Rajasthan trip - The blue city

15 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

We reached Jodhpur at 2200 hrs and got into two auto rickshaws at the station to show us a few places to stay in. After some searching, we found a beautiful hotel in the center of the Jodhpur clock tower (Ghanta Ghar) area. It is actually a temple called Tijamata Mandir, half of which has been converted into a hotel. The place was stunning with beautiful decor and was one of the best places we have ever stayed in as part of our group trips! It even had a rooftop restaurant with a wonderful view! Of course, it was more expensive than the Jaisalmer hotel, but at Rs. 1000 a night, it was actually a good bargain, considering that all 5 of us were in the same room. The room by itself was okay, but the hotel was wonderful.

But more about the hotel later. It was already 2300 hrs and we were hungry. There was only one restaurant open around and the rickshaw waalas dropped us there. It was an awesome Muslim joint (don't even need to specify. All Muslim restaurants are awesome!) and we chomped on a lot of liver masala and bheja fry among the equally tasty chicken curry and naans. We finished post midnight and this being a small town, there was no transport to take us back to the hotel. The owner of the restaurant was very helpful though and he told his sons to drop us on bikes. With 2 sons, 2 bikes and 5 of us, they had to make 3 trips to drop us to the hotel and the warmth of Rajasthani people continued. It really amazes me to see the difference between the people here compared to every idiot we were acquainted with during our North trip and especially in Delhi.

In Jodhpur, we continued with our laziness and watched TV for a good couple of hours at least. Chandu and I spoke through the night long after everyone was asleep. When I was finally tired of all the talking, I fell asleep and the day finally ended.

16 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

The next day we woke up to more TV with Mahabharat from our younger days. I wonder if kids watch it anymore. It used to be our staple Sunday morning for so many years! We got up from our beds and took a shower only when we were hungry for lunch and went to the rooftop restaurant. The view was beautiful and we were totally loving this hotel! Only drawback - since this is a temple, only vegan food is served here, and they do not serve alcohol.

Doorway to heaven!

Walk in the door and find the beautiful garden and restaurant beyond

Take a left and the hotel room corridor can be seen

Get into the corridor for the cleanest, whitest floor!

After entering the main door, take a right instead of the left and find the temple area

Post lunch, we left for Mehrangarh fort in an auto rickshaw for Rs. 100. I also called my friend Shubhra and told her that I was in town and we made dinner plans. Tickets to the fort cost Rs. 20 plus Rs. 50 per head if you want to take the elevator to the top. We wanted to go walking, but we had reached late and the guide advised us to take the elevator to save time. The guide costs another Rs. 200 and a camera costs Rs. 50. We had 2 cameras and it would be a waste of money to pay 100 bucks for cameras. So we told the guy at the counter that we would not use one camera so if it would be okay for us to pay for one. And true to the Rajasthani warmth, he said it was absolutely fine!

Our guide was a man with the traditional mustache and we had a great time listening to the history of the fort. When the tour was done, we were at the top of the fort looking at the blue city below. We sat at the edge and looked below. It's times like these when I feel like free falling into the depths! Vedant wanted to look at the other end of the fort-top and dragged me there. The fort was closing and we had to leave soon so we walked back towards the stairs where the rest of the gang had already left. Soon, we caught up with them and were looking for a rickshaw at the foot of the fort when a local told us he knew a shortcut we could walk through to the city below. It was just a 5 minute walk downhill and we couldn't believe that the fort was so close to where we were staying! And to think we wasted money on a rickshaw ride!

The real man!

As blue as a city can get!

We wanted to buy some beer and while we asked the helpful man directions to a wine shop, we decided to show our thanks by offering him something to drink. To our surprise, he immediately accepted and so we bought him some alcohol to make his night!

As I sipped on some nicely chilled beer back at the hotel room, Shubhra called. It was time for me to leave. I was to take a rickshaw to her house, from where we would go out for dinner. But I was distracted. Over the days, Chandan and I had become close and I wanted to stay and spend more time with him. But this was Shubhra, my best friend from school, who I hadn't met in so long! Friendship had to come first and so hesitatingly, I left.

At Shubhra's place, I also met her husband Pankaj and beautiful 2 year old daughter, Trisha. We left for a suburban hotel - Bal Samand Gardens. It's a pretty place which used to be a bunch of stables in the king's time, which have now been converted to rooms. In the center is a large open area, which serves as a restaurant. It was really cold and the waiter will get you a personal hot coal container to keep your table warm.

I wasn't very hungry and I really just wanted to get back to the hotel. But as we drove back, Pankaj offered to show me the Umaid Bhavan Palace which I'm glad I said yes to. Because it was mind blowing at night, with the lights making it look more royal than ever! Pankaj and Shubhra have courtship stories around Umaid Bhavan and I couldn't help smiling at the romance the place brought.

Pankaj dropped me to the hotel (after I forgot the way) thanks to local passersby's help. Back at the hotel, the guys had just finished their dinner too and we were back to TV. I was showing Vedant my skills of removing hair from the root using just my nails and used Chandu as an unwilling volunteer. As I plucked a beard hair right through, he got really pissed and didn't talk to me at all after that! But I didn't even know! He just kept quiet and went off to sleep. After the rest of us watched some American Idol, I was finally ready to sleep.

17 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

The next morning, I was woken up at about 0530 hours by Chandan pulling my eyelids open! He was awake and, well, he just thought it appropriate to wake me up too! Somehow, I didn't mind. We spoke until everyone else got up - I told him how my dinner with Shubhra was and how much me and Debarati missed her not being in Bombay. And other general stuff. And while we were talking that morning, we had a moment. A moment where we both got quiet and there was what is popularly known as sexual tension. Lol. By now, people were awake and Fahim kinda figured that there was something brewing between Chandu and me and the rest of the trip, he would sing "Ringa Ringa" from Slumdog Millionaire to us, with a teasing face! I've never been embarrassed by all this teasing, and so I played along, smiling and saying "Aah, so now u know!".

I wanted the rest of the gang to also see Umaid Bhavan and so off we went. The Palace is up a steep road and the rickshaw was so slow that we could read messages written on the rocks at the edge of the road at least thrice each! Umaid Bhavan is truly majestic and we hung out for a good while. We didn't wanna do anything for the rest of the day as our laziness increased. Also we had a train to catch that evening and so we came back to the hotel.

Back at Ghanta Ghar, I set out to buy some salwaar-kameez material for my friend, Priti. She'd asked for pink bandhni material and I just hadn't found the right pink or the right combination of pink with another colour. While at the market, I found Chandan following me around, with nothing he wanted to buy himself. I knew the man was feeling just like I was :)

For lunch, the guys wanted to go back to the Muslim joint and eat, but I was pushing to try a new place. Why stick with the old, I urged. Eventually, we ate at a bad hygiene restaurant with okayish food. We were hungry and too far from the good restaurant and I was cursed a lot. My bad! We ate and did some shopping at a nearby market. I finally found the pink material I was looking for, and also picked up a kurta for Mhatre, which Manish had forgotten to pick up when he was in Rajasthan.

At 1845 hrs that evening, we got on to our train to Bombay. Our trip was ending! However, my travel days were not ending. I had received a call from office a few days earlier asking me if I was okay with traveling to the Philippines as soon as I came back from my vacation. I didn't have any problems and had said yes! As luck would have it, all my visa stamping was done in 3 days while I was vacationing and I was to leave on the 19th! And I was just starting to like Chandan! What timing! Damn!

We played more charades on the train and then all of us except Vedu went out to the door for a smoke. Now this is illegal and I should know better, but we were rightly punished for it. While we were smoking, this scene emerged:
Gayatri: "Koi pakadta nahi hai kya idhar?" ("Doesn't anybody ever get punished for this?")
Chandan: "Ab tak toh aisa hua nahi hai" ("It's never happened before.")
Alpana (with cigarette in mouth and spotted by a TC): "Uhh...I think we are caught!"

LOL. The TC didn't say much - just asked for a fine of Rs. 200 per head! And we were like whaaaaaa....that would be 800 bucks! Almost as much as room rent at Jodhpur! We negotiated, but the TC wouldn't relent. He asked us girls to get back to our seats while he spoke with the guys. When we came back, we told Vedu our story and he went off towards the TC, laughing! With the extremely amazing bargaining power that he has, he brought down the total fine to Rs. 200!

So we decided to hit the sack before anything else went wrong! Chandan and I weren't getting any sleep though, for obvious reasons. And we wanted to settle some stuff out. None of us were really sure about the other's love life status. If we were both really single or not even! So we talked about where we were in relationships and we were pretty much in the same place. Both had been through big breakups in the recent past and it was kinda putting things into perspective for us. Again, we slept really late after a whole lot of talking.


18 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

We reached Bombay at 1200 hrs. At Borivali, we were picked up by Manish and Roopali and Chandu and I went over to their place for lunch while Gayatri and Fahim went back home. Vedant had already gotten off one station earlier. We saw Manish and Roopali's wedding and engagement pictures over some bread and chicken. I left soon after to reach home quickly. Catty was not well and I had to see her. But that's another blog post. The next one, in fact.

And with that, ended the Rajasthan trip. It'd been a good one. :)

Rajasthan trip - The quaint town we all love!

15 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

It was the day we had to leave. We had a young college going group staying in the room next to ours. When we met them in the morning, one of them said to me, "So, you guys had a party last night!" and I said, "Yeah! You heard, eh?". And the guy went, "Yeah. All of Jaisalmer heard!". And that pretty much summed up our drinking night! Woo hoo!

We had a train to catch at 1600 hrs and so we had half a day to look around some more of Jaisalmer. We'd read about some excavation area near the Jain temple and decided to have a looksy. We took a rickshaw and while on our way, it started pouring! We couldn't believe that it was raining in Jaisalmer! And not even a drizzle. This was rain! And it was winter!

Well the excavation spot was a disappointment, coz we didn't know exactly what was excavated. There were no signs, no boards, nothing. So while it rained, Chandan and I got wet in the rain, while the rest of the suckers looked for cover. And we saw an eagle bearing the winds, standing atop a thin wood pole over a house.

Such a statement!

When it was really wet and cold, and after taking pictures and videos of what surrounded us, we found the rest of the guys in a house, which obviously belonged to somebody who wasn't there, and waited for the rain to stop. Well it didn't, and so when it slowed down a little, we made our way back to the rickshaw that was waiting for us, where we saw some men cutting wood, old style with hands and axe! So our guys Vedu and Famu took a shot at it and well, just wasted the wood-cutters' time. They made tiny dents in the wrong places. Not worth too much writing space.

And so we headed back to the hotel, packed our bags and were off to the station for our train to Jodhpur. It was quite cold as we left Jaisalmer and we had to cover ourselves in blankets as we played Uno. Chandan, I realized was warm and I took full advantage and wrapped my hands around his arms, and of course, made the suggestion to Gayatri to do the same! Lol.

The rest of the journey we played dumbcharades and found what an absolutely complex player Fahim is at that game! Let me give you an example:
- Fahim shows us the sign for Hindi movie with one word, with the word split into two. He's gonna sign us the second half.
- Fahim shows us the finger rubbing sign for money. So we guess 'money'.
- He then draws a rectangle with his hands. So we guess 'money note'.
- Then he rubs his hand over his head. So we guess 'hair'. No. 'Bald'? Yes.
- So he shows 'note' and 'bald' again. Okay....'Gandhi'? Yes, Gandhi.
- Now he does a woman's curves with his hand. This took time for us to understand. Gayatri got it quickest. He mean't Gandhi's woman - 'Kasturba'! Haha!
- Now he splits 'Kasturba' in half. We eventually guess 'kast'.
- So that's the second half of the movie's name. What could the first half be? After a few seconds of thinking, we got it - 'Shikast'!!!!

And to do that, I would have shown a bow and arrow or a gun or something to show hunting, get to 'Shikaar' and then get to 'Shikast'! But Fahim is a complex guy!

Another one was this:
- Fahim signs to us that it is an English movie with two words.
- He starts with showing us a butterfly sign with his hands. So 'butterfly' it is.
- Then he signs for the Hindi word for 'butterfly'. 'Titli'.
- He signals a word that rhymes with 'titli'. We finally guess 'Italy'.
- That's kinda the first word. He now asks us to guess the rest. We guess ' Italian Job'. Lol.

And again, to do that, I would have just done the sign for blow job and gotten it! Haha. But I repeat, Fahim is a complex guy!

We were reminded by fellow passengers that we were having way too much fun, and therefore getting noisier. So we finally stopped and went off to sleep. It wasn't so cold that night, as we got farther away from Jaisalmer. Soon, we would be at Jodhpur and I would meet my school best friend, Shubhra, who I haven't been able to be in touch so much anymore, ever since she got married.

Rajasthan trip - A night in the village!

13 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

Gadisagar lake in Jaisalmer is supposed to be beautiful and we decided to make a visit. We were deciding between taking a rickshaw or hiring bikes or cycles. We were really keen on the cycles and were trying to locate stores where we could rent some. Most of the cycles were really big and while we looked for smaller ones for Gayatri and me, we stumbled across Mr. Ghanshyam's cycle store. It's the biggest in Jaisalmer and while he doesn't give cycles on rent, he sells them to mostly local buyers. Now he told us (and we didn't know this earlier) that Jaisalmer is just 5 sq. kms. and there was absolutely no need to hire a cycle. For the trip to Gadisagar, it would be easier to take a rickshaw and travel the rest of Jaisalmer by foot.

The great part about Jaisalmer is how friendly the people are. In any store we went to, even Mr. Khatri's museum, we spent a good hour just talking to the people, learning about their customs, traditions, culture, and just generally chit-chatting. With Ghanshyam, we spoke at length about Jaisalmer, his family, our families, and so much so over a few cups of tea. We got so pally that he invited us over for dinner and the night at his home in a village 'Amar Sagar' neighboring Jaisalmer. At first, we were not sure what to make of this invitation. When you come from a big city, these things can only mean trouble. You never know what the person's intentions are and we wondered if there could be plans to rob us, drug us, or god knows what. After a lot of deliberation, adventure overcame caution and we said yes. We would go to Gadisagar and come back to the market to leave for the village with Ghanshyam.

Gadisagar had a good deal of birds - with ducks, geese and other birds. We saw an amazing eagle chase, but not what you may think! It was a flock of crows chasing an eagle. If you watch enough Discovery channel, you'll know that an eagle has the same speed as a pigeon (and so, quite the same speed as a crow as well) when it flies parallel to the ground. However, when flying downwards, the eagle's speed almost doubles that of the pigeon. We saw this in action with the eagle taking it's time and letting the crows catch up with it across the sky and then in one swoop, it would just outfly all the crows by many many meters! We were spellbound, looking at the sky for almost 15 mintues until our necks hurt!

The lone adolescent eagle

We took another rick from Gadisagar to come back to Jaisalmer and had food at Kalpana again. We were in love with this joint! Ghanshyam had meanwhile arranged for a friend's rick for us and we left for his village, Amar Sagar. He told us that he would cook mutton for us and so we obliged with buying the mutton for him since he was doing so much for us. We also bought whiskey for some pre-dinner fun and chocolates for the kids.

At Ghanshyam's place, we met his wife and kids...and I really liked his wife! I was expecting to see a mild mannered woman who wouldn't talk (like the picture of village women I had), but she handed over half the cooking work to him and made him cut half the vegetables that would go into the food. She spoke much more than I'd imagined and had a nice cleavage showing blouse! I never knew!

Yumm!

While the mutton was being cooked, we opened our whiskey and had a great time with Ghanshyam telling us stories of Jaisalmer, poetry about booze and opium that is part of folklore. I'd written a lot of them down on my cell phone, but I lost my phone when I got back to Bombay :( So unfortunately, no poetry remembered!

Ghanshyam got nicely high, and was oddly appreciative of the fact that women in the group were drinking. He later told us that we were very good people coz we were free thinkers and didn't have any ill feelings within us. I must say that my thoughts on villagers changed a lot after we met Ghanshyam and his family. Mutton cooked, we hogged. In fact, Vedant, who had sworn off non-veg food for two and a half years, totally dug in! We had a convert!

Ghanshyam's house had a ceiling only in the two bedrooms and his kitchen. The rest of the house had no roof and considering that it hardly ever rains in Jaisalmer, I guess it's okay. The rest of the house had no roof at all. One floor above, was a terrace (above the portions of the house that had a ceiling, of course) and after dinner and drinks, we went above to look at the stars and hear the silence. Ghanshyam's wife, Padmini, came to me later and asked me if the girls and guys would be sleeping separately, to ask us our comfort. Now (1) we didn't mind sleeping together at all and (2) they had just one more spare room anyway; so we obviously said it was no problem. She is just a sweetheart and said that it was her duty to ask us, and she put down four mattresses in the spare room.

Rooms in this house had no doors. The only doors were between the house and outside the house. The bedrooms had curtains for privacy. And we were loud! Thanks to lack of sleep and whiskey, we were jumping and rolling all over the room. Since Gayatri and I sleep without our bras, we took them off and kept them under our pillows. When Chandu found a red strap under his pillow, he didn't know what he was looking at and pulled it out to see what it was. And he was like "What is this doing under my pillow?!?!?!". Like lightening, Gayatri was onto him saying "Why don't u wear it, why don't u wear it??" We have pictures of Gayatri sodomising Chandu and asking him to put on her red bra, but I don't think it'd be appropriate to put it here.

Some time later, we were lying down, all exhausted with the masti. Vedant, by the way, was fast asleep and snoring as usual. From left to right, these were our positions - Vedant, Chandan, me, Gayatri, Fahim. Now since I was still not sleepy, I kept sliding my hand up Fahim's arms (over Gayatri), therefore not giving them any privacy. Eventually sick of it, Fahim got up and decided to teach me a lesson. And for the skinny man he is, man is he strong! He caught hold of me and pinned me down giving me almost no room to wiggle in. Chandu, who was getting increasingly kinky during the trip, got into the action and I was molested (no no, not literally) by the two for a good ten minutes, with Gayatri egging Fahim on with "Le usko, le, le!". Again, we have pictures that just cannot be shared. Unfortunate.

After a lot of wrestling, we were through for the night and went off to sleep. Finally. I don't know how the rest of the household got any sleep with our screams and shrieks. Or how the rest of the village must've reacted to all the racket. But I guess Indian village people treat their guests very well, coz we were not asked to shut up at any given point of time!

14 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

The next morning, we did the village thing to do - brushed our teeth outside the house in the open and spat the foam into nearby shrubs! Some hot tea and breakfast (leftovers from the earlier night's dinner) done, we perched ourselves outside the house and sat and talked with Ghanshyam, Padmini and their kids. Many villagers who were on their way to the town on their regular day at work, stopped by to enquire who we might be. We were introduced to every single person. Most people are sorta related and there are a lot of aunts, uncles, grandmas and other far relatives. A wrinkled old man who was one of the curious passersby, turned out to be an ex-snake charmer. Since snake charming is now illegal in India, he no longer had any snakes (I'm glad the law's working!) but he did have the famous wind instrument, the been. He played a few songs for us and went off on his way to Jaisalmer. We were having a really good morning.

Snake charmer

Ghanshyam then took us to his aunt's house for some chaas and a look at her authentic desert house. He later took us to a nearby garden and a semi-dry well which is used as a swimming pool when it's full. The pool had a lot of leaves and flowers strewn all over it and looked very dirty, but he threw a stone in it and when the layer of floral debris rippled away, the water was crystal clear! The garden had radish plants growing and we helped ourselves to some fresh radish for snacks!

Ghanshyam's aunt's house. L-R: Gayatri, Vedant, me, Fahim.

We finally left the village in an autorickshaw to get to Jaisalmer. Again, this was free, courtesy Ghanshyam. He had treated us like kings and queens! We owe a lot of thanks to him to make this trip so unique to us!

We were leaving Jaisalmer the next day and we still hadn't seen Jaisalmer fort! We kept procrastinating everyday and never really got to visit it. So we decided to make a trip and at least go around the fort once. Actually, we had seen so many forts that we didn't really want to learn any more history at this point. The Jaisalmer fort is not one I would recommend. Families that lived in the fort during the king's time have received the rights to continue to live there and it is thus not government property. So the fort is full of houses where people live, shops, restaurants and what not. It doesn't really give you the splendour and magnificence that you usually get when you see a fort. However, it must be something living in a house with that kind of architecture!

Jaisalmer fort

We'd come to an arrangement with Kalpana, the restaurant, that evening to give us a table at this terrace that they had but did not use. We would get our own alcohol and use their table, cold drinks and food. It seemed like a perfect place for a drink and a view. After we were all freshened up post the walk inside the fort, we headed to our joint. As Chandan and I sat out (The others were all in the room at the time. It involves a big story concering the loo. We better not get into details.), it started drizzling. Now like I said, it hardly ever rains in Jaisalmer, and this was amazing! It was already quite pleasant and it got even colder. We opened some whiskey and made ourselves comfortable.

This was the only night that we really got high. I dont know why, but no matter how much we had been drinking all through the trip up until now, we had never gotten drunk. Not even at Ghanshyam's place. At 0000 hrs, while we were returning back to the hotel, my phone beeped- it was our friend, Saurabh's birthday, back in Bombay! So there we were, on the road, screaming "Happy Birthday!!!" to a seemingly overwhelmed Saurabh! He eventually hung up on us when we wouldn't let him take any other calls he was getting on call waiting, and we walked on, swaying, to our hotel room!

Didn't do too much except scream and run that night. I remember Gayatri and me running through the hotel hallway into a common balcony and jumping into our balcony from there. And I remember Gayatri standing on Chandu - it was part of our cleansing ritual for we were trying to get the new kinky Chandu even kinkier! And then, I remember sleeping.

Rajasthan Trip - Sand, sand, everywhere!

11 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

On the way to Jaisalmer is Pokaran. Well it is not really on the way, but this route has been used for ages and this is how it goes - the train goes all the way to Pokaran, where the tracks end, and then turns back to join the main tracks again. We got off at Jaisalmer at 1245 hrs and were welcomed by pleasant climate. The station itself is beautiful and once off it, a tourist is greeted by scores of agents holding hotel placards. You can get an idea of the rates by asking them and then hop on to your chosen hotel's vehicle free of cost. On getting to the hotel, there's no reason to fret if you don't like the place...you can just tell the hotel guy and if he's nice enough, he'll let you use the same vehicle to check out other hotels as well! After all the help, you may want to tip the vehicle driver Rs. 20 or 30.

Pick your hotel!!

So after checking out a few hotels, we fixed up with a Hotel Prince. And man, is Jaisalmer cheap!!! The 5 of us were to stay in one room (with a bed that was comfortably big enough for all of us) for Rs. 300 per night (and not per head!!). We also took a desert safari package which would cost us Rs. 1100 per head, which would include the following:

1. Ride to the desert which is about 30 kms away.
2. Camel safari in the desert.
3. Camping the night in the desert with evening snacks and a cultural folk show, dinner, beautiful tents and breakfast in the morning.
4. A ride back to the hotel.
   

Our rooms were nothing much to look at, but that's how our rooms usually are. As usual, we had clean toilets and that's all we wanted!

We decided to do the desert safari immediately, mainly because it is said to be best on full moons and we were just a day late. It would be the best time during our stay in Jaisalmer to do the safari. We packed enough for a night and took the hotel jeep to the camel stand at the edge of the desert.

The desert is beautiful and I personally think its the vast ocean-like feel to it that gives a sense of calm. Sometimes I just want to keep walking into it. There's something about how limitless, boundary-less beings pull you into them. Sigh!

The camels are well kept (except for the "nose piercing", do they have to do that??) and healthy, however I can't say too many nice things about the camel keepers themselves. They are greedy people who are looking for opportunities to squeeze more from the tourists. It starts with the point where you reach an area in the desert where all tourists get off the camels and start taking pictures, etc. At that point, the camel keepers will ask you if you want to go further into the desert, away from all the crowd, and where the sand is pristine. Of course, it'll make your wallets lighter by some 500 bucks more. Each camel. Nope, not interested. The moment they know that you are not giving them more income, they get a little hostile. When we were taking pictures, they kept pushing us to leave. "It's getting late." "The sun is setting." "Our camels need to get back." Somehow, these were not applicable if we wanted to go further into the desert. After an hour an a half from the time we left our jeep, we were at our camp site. We tipped the camel guys Rs. 50 and they were very vocally disappointed. They insisted, "Pachaas se kya hota hai. Yeh aap hi rakh lo." (What happens with 50. You keep it.) Pissed, we did.

Slow, bumpy ride. L-R: Fahim, Gayatri, Vedant, Chandan and me.

Note: Don't take the camel further into the desert. It's hardly too far from the main site where the crowds are, and if you keep a good eye around you, you'll find a lot of places with sand that's not been walked on and places where you can take a picture without anybody in the background. Also, don't tip the camel keepers too much. They are just greedy. they already make a lot of money from the safari. I understand that most large tippers are westerners due to the fact that currency conversion makes them think that it's a small amount. But it's not. Trust me, you are not taking food away from them, you are only encouraging bad behavior!

There are at least 4 - 5 camps, all a few feet from each other. All hotels have a tie up with any one of these camps. We were the last camp 'Oasis India', which was awesome, but there was a 'Dungaree Camp' that was playing loud dance music. At the beginning, we were really wondering if it would have been a better camp to be in, but as the night progressed, we totally fell in love with the place.

We went into our tents (we had 2 for the 5 of us) and set our stuff in. It was beautiful! A nice comfortable bed that was big enough for 3 people, 2 folding chairs and a coffee table with colourful Rajasthani art inscribed in the wood, a bathroom cum toilet separated by the rest of the tent by a curtain, and even electric plug points!

Note: When you book the safari package, you are given a choice of basic or premium tents. The next morning, we saw the premium tents and they are no different from the basic tents, just pointlessly priced higher. Go for basic.

Basic tent: Bed

Basic tent: Furniture

Basic tent: Bathroom - toilet

Once settled, we went outside to a cold evening and had some tea and poha, sitting on bedding set around a bonfire. We had brought some whiskey as well, and after a while, settled down to warming ourselves outside with some good alcohol. The folk program started with dances and singing. There was one man who played an instrument called the khudtal which is basically a pair of flat polished wood panels, usually made from the sheesham tree. It makes a rhythmic beat and is quite difficult to play...you really have to get the hang of holding it right!

Guy to extreme left is playing the khudtal. The guy in between was an amazing singer and also later played the khudtal with lightening speed! The two "women" dancers in the back are actually men - originally, women were not allowed to do performances in Rajasthan and although it is not like that anymore, the tradition of men dancing as women has continued!

All the other tourists in the camp were more interested in the food rather than the music and soon left. Thus, inadvertently, it became an exclusive performance just for us. The five of us are total music lovers and we had a ball of a time, making song requests and getting the "band" to sit right in front of us for that 'personal' touch! Chandan and I took many many pictures and videos of the music being played. If Chandan's in your Facebook friends list, check out the khudtal video. This was one group worth tipping and we did that graciously.

When it got late (in the desert, 9 o clock seems like midnight!), we went to the buffet tent for dinner. All camp personnel were courteous at all times and really treated us well. And to top it, it got even better when Vedant told the cook at one time that I write about my travels, and the entire staff just went gaga over us! Oh, and the food was awesome!

We were not sleepy yet and decided to take a walk in the desert since we were stuffed from all the food. Some staff volunteered to accompany us to ensure we didn't get lost or anything. In the moonlight, the desert looked a milky white, and the silence was uncannily ear piercing. To say it was romantic, would be an understatement, and I think Gayatri and Fahim felt exactly that while they walked together a few meters behind us.

In the moonlight. L-R: Chandan, Vedant, Gayatri, me, Fahim.

Back in the tent, we transferred the pictures taken into the laptop I was carrying and soon a tired Gayatri and Fahim went to their tent to sleep. Vedant fell asleep while watching the pictures and Chandu and I talked for a couple of hours before we fell asleep. None of us really remember much of what we said to each other. But I think the gist was how beautiful the trip was getting to be and how it was a good idea to not skip Jaisalmer in the trip calendar.

12 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant, Fahim.

I can easily say that when it was finally the five of us remaining in the trip, it was only leisure. We didn't want to scout through tourist hotspots, nor did we want to pack our day with stuff to do. When we woke up on the 12th, it was almost 1000 hrs and we were supposed to leave by 9. All other tourists had left and although we had apparently received a wake up call (which is, btw, literally a guy calling out to us to wake up from outside the tent), we overslept. Since we were the only tourists there, we took our time getting fresh and going for breakfast. While I was in the loo, I heard a weird growl, followed by another kind of weird growl. I couldn't figure out what it was and I must say that for a moment, I was a little scared. Finally, I found out that one of them was an angry dog and the other was a sleeping Vedant!

The night before we had asked the camp staff if we could have camel milk in the morning. Unfortunately, we should have woken up anytime between 0500 and 0700 hrs for that, since camel milk has to be drunk fresh. Ironically, in a state full of camels, there are very few domestic female camels, and it is very difficult to find camel milk. We spoke in length to the chef while having breakfast and when we finally left, took really good memories back.

On our way back, we stopped at an old Jain temple. Chandu and I stood outside while the others went in - we were more interested in taking pictures of the temple and its surroundings...plus I didn't wanna take off my shoes. We also stopped by some village houses on the way and were cautioned by the driver not to get into anybody's house - just look from outside. He couldn't or wouldn't explain exactly why, but I guess it's either that they trouble tourists or we trouble them!

On the way, we found a store outside of which two men were playing carrom. One old guy told Vedant to play a game and whoever won bought the other a beer. I don't quite remember who won, but we did have to pay for some beers! Some unknown brand, but awesome beer! Made in Rajasthan and something we didn't get anywhere else in the rest of Rajasthan!

Carrom anyone?

When we were back in Jaisalmer, we were hungry! It was 1600 hrs and we hadn't even had lunch! Most restaurants in Jaisalmer are vegetarian and we wanted some chicken. We found a rooftop restaurant while we were walking around and sat there, only to find prices as high as a good Bombay restaurant! So Vedant and I decided to look around some more, while the rest of the gang sat there, just in case we didn't find any other place to eat non-veg food. Asking people on the street, we found a place called 'Kalpana' where we called everybody else.

Some lip-smacking food later, we were walking back to our hotel when we found a private museum called The Thar Heritage Museum founded by Mr. L. N. Khatri. The man has been collecting items since he was a child - this includes things that have been thrown as garbage, old stuff that people don't want anymore, equivalent of garage sales by families, and contains coins, utensils, household articles, art, old documents, desert shells etc. According to the museum pamphlet, it has been "awarded the Sanskriti Dharmi Award 2007 by the district Magistrate of Jaisalmer for contributing towards ancient culture heritage of Jaisalmer" and also "awarded by Governer of Rajasthan on state level for conservation of folk heritage" in 2008. Entry to the museum is free and you may choose to give a donation when you leave, along with your name and some details. He's got some really amazing stuff in there and you just must visit this place if and when you're in Jaisalmer. it's right in the middle of the market with a very visible banner across the narrow street - you can't miss the sign! Read some good reviews here.

An eventful yet leisurely day passed, we crashed in our hotel sleep for some good sleep and another day beckoning!

Rajasthan trip - The Capital

09 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John, Gayatri.

John had planned a tight itinerary for us for the next two days. A vehicle was booked for us for our time in Jaipur at Rs. 1000 per day. We woke up in the morning and went straight to the market for breakfast. We hogged on chaat and headed to Jaigarh fort. It is a huge place with the highlight being one of the biggest cannons you can see, with a range of over 30 kms. The fort periphery is vast and you can see the outside walls going for as far as you can see.

The cannon at Jaigarh fort

We then moved on to Nahargarh fort, which is a little more beautiful than Jaigarh. Jaigarh is anyway knows to be popular for its size rather than its beauty. While at Nahargarh, I stumbled upon a beautiful dugout and called Chandan to take some pictures. We then realized that there was a way to go down inside it and called everyone else. At the bottom, we took many many pictures and sat down to look at the magnificence of the architecture.

Wrinkles on stone - the dugout

This dugout is, by the way, the same place where some scenes of Rang De Basanti were shot...this is the "masti ki paathshaala"! The Nahargarh fort is also where the auditorium scene of RDB was shot, when auditions are taken for the roles of various people in the documentary they are going to make. I can only imagine all the performances that took place here in the Maharaja's time!

Manish jumping from the stage on the crowd (or well....erm...just on the camera)

Still 09 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John, Gayatri + Vedant.

Our next stop was Amer fort, but before that we had to pick up Vedant who had just reached Jaipur by train. We asked him to get to Amer by a cab and we saw him there, put his luggage in our vehicle and went in Amer fort.

Amer is mindblowingly beautiful. You enter into the main compound through a gate having a plethora of colors. Then there is the Diwan-e-aam, with its myriad pillars and the Sheesh Mahal, with mirrors showing a beautiful imagery of light and relection. There were also colorful gardens adorning the interior and exterior of the palace.

Entrance to main compound at Amer fort

Diwan-e-aam

Ceiling at Sheesh Mahal

Garden inside the palace

Garden outside the palace - view from the top of the palace

But what made everything worth it was the guide we had. We hadn't taken any guides at Jaigarh or Nahargarh and decided to take one here. The fella quoted Rs. 200 for a group of more than 6 people and Rs. 150 for lesser. Since we were more, we haggled for him to get us the lower price. He finally agreed and gave us on of the most informative tours we've ever had. He took us through each and every corner of the place, explaining the history and architecture behind it. In fact, he was prompt with all the answers to our questions or doubts as well and seemed to know the subject matter like an expert. His erudition was a league above the guides at Ranthambore fort and Taj Mahal. He impressed us so much that we eventually gave him his Rs. 200 because we really felt he deserved it.

The guide at Amer. You can tell we are engrossed! L-R: Pedro, Nanu, Guide, me, Vedant, Roopali, Manish, Gayatri, John.

Note: When you're at Amer fort, take one of the guides. They are excellent!

We finished seeing the fort by 1800 hrs and then made our way to the memorabilia store at the exit. I bought some wonderful saris for mom and myself and a beautiful painting for home. However, you may want to skip the sari buying here and take a look at Jaipur market instead. You'll get similar stuff for half the price, if you bargain well.

Buying complete, we were off to Choki Dhani for dinner and a Rajasthani cultural experience. They put on a great show there, with folk music and dance, fair rides like the ferris wheel, camel rides, and so much more. There are also little stalls that are either selling food or small memorabilia items or have games on offer. I hung out with John, Vedant and Chandan, playing each and every stupid game - shooting balloons on the wall, throwing rings on stuff to win them, dropping bowling pins with a ball, and what not!

But the main attraction was the food! When you enter Choki Dhani, you get a coupon with the time that you can sit to eat (like in a restaurant when there is waiting). We could only sit at 2300 hrs and so we passed our time first with all the rides and games and stall food. At our stipulated time, we sat down in true Indian style. On the floor with our legs crossed paalti maarkar. One by one, the food started coming in. Yumm....!!! What was awesome was the guys who serve the food, would not listen to you when you insisted that you'd eaten enough. No siree! "You have to eat more than that!!!!" Plop! Another spoon of food in your plate! We then realized we had to eat slowly so that our plates didn't look too empty. At the end of it, we were super stuffed and I got high like I always do when I eat too much! That means that I was dancing and going round in circles around myself at one point of time, but lets not talk about it too much now.

Back to our hotel, we played more Uno until most people were asleep. At the end, it was just me, Chandan, Manish, John and Gayatri. John made us play a game in which we all tell each other what our first impression on everyone in the room was and what we thought of them now. I remember saying that I always thought of Chandan as a quiet, nice boy. I remember stressing on the word nice. And how I thought John was a player and that kinda hadn't (and still hasn't) changed up until the game. And how Manish was and is one of my best friends ever. And how I appreciated Gayatri for being a chilled out chick and coming for every trip we have, irrespective of any problems or issues within the group. We should play that game again!

10 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John, Gayatri + Fahim.

Early next morning, Fahim arrived, but he was not gonna stay with us that day. He would visit Ajmer Sharif and then join us in the evening. A whole bunch of people were leaving on 10th and a lot of shopping had to be done. So Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro and John left the hotel by 0900 hrs while the rest of us took our time to wake up, get ready and finally leave. We met the rest of the gang directly for lunch at 1300 hrs at Jaipur station. We said our goodbyes to them and decided to see the city in the vehicle that we still had.

Jaipur is a gorgeous city. The buildings are stunning and the statues and memorials on road junctions are stare-worthy. Old Jaipur, which is supposed to be pink, is not really pink. Its brown. Seriously. That's not pink.

Chandan, Gayatri, Vedant and I stopped at the Jal Mahal, in the middle of a lake, as the name suggests. We then headed to Jaipur fort in the main city. With a guide, we wandered the fort with trivia about the history and artifacts kept there. It was a good looking place, but I think we'd had enough of forts for a while! Make a trip to the memorabilia store in the fort. You get awesome coffee mugs for Rs. 20 bucks each. They're a steal! We picked up one titled Nine Boys. It's a wierdass picture that'll make you think..."Whaaa!!!" Lol.

Nine boys

It was 1700 hrs now and Hawa Mahal had already shut. We just took a look from outside and headed for the market to shop! We bought a lot of bandhni material and I also bought another sari that was similar to the one at the store outside Amer fort for half the price. By this time, Fahim was back and while we (Chandan, Vedant and I) were finished with our shopping (erm, actually my shopping), Gayatri still had more to go. We were tired and headed back to the car while Fahim took care of his woman. We ate some more chaat and hot milk, and after a proper dinner at some pointlessly classy restaurant somewhere (I don't remember the name of the restaurant or the location!) for the five of us, we headed towards the train station where we had to catch a 2357 hrs train to Jaisalmer.

We reached the station about 20 minutes before time. To top that, the train was late. We stood at the platform and bought chains for our luggae (first time!). A Palace on Wheels had just arrived and with whatever glimpses we could get of the inside, it was spectacular! The beautiful beds, the resturant, the lights, the bar....all of it! Vedant and I walked the length of the train and ogled at the expensive upholstery and the rich people inside.

Most of Chandan's platform time was eaten by a serious discussion between him and his girlfriend (or ex girlfriend, debatably) while Gayatri and Famu were chatting about each other's days. Vedant was checking out everything at the station while I don't remember doing anything interesting.

While at Jaipur market, I remember telling everyone to buy blankets if they didn't have one already. Chandan and I were the only two who had endured the last train journey's cold and we had to warn everybody! Vedant, for some reason, didn't take us seriously and pooh-poohed our suggestions. So that night, when the train finally arrived, and we took our berths and went off to sleep, Vedan't probably had one of the worst nights in his life. With everyone sleeping comfortably inside blankets, Vedu couldn't sleep one wink. He was lying down, but the chill would not let him get any rest. We had a bottle of whiskey in a bag and he took 4-5 swigs from it. That gave him some warmth at least. He woke me up somewhere around 3 or 4 am and apparantly told me his situation, but when I sleep, I act subconciously and I don't remember a word of what he or I said! So I wasn't of any help to him. When the sun was rising and it was getting a little warmer, Vedu finally caught a few winks, though it wasn't all that comfortable - the windows would not close completely and sand from outside kept making its way through to him. Poor Vedu! If only he'd taken a blanket!

Rajasthan Trip - Beautiful marble and crazy possessed people!

06 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John.

We hired a car to take us to Agra and were off at about 1400 hrs. Agra is about 300 kms away from Ranthambore which is a 7 hour drive. At 1900 hrs on the highway, we were suddenly engulfed by dense fog so bad that we couldn't see more than a few feet ahead. And it happened so suddenly that we were caught unawares!

Pic of fog from the rear window

We had to reduce speed and eventually reached Agra at 2300 hrs. The whole town was asleep and there were hardly any lights on the street. We checked out a few hotels and finally found cheap accommodation at one Hotel Paradise. We still had the car with us from Ranthambore, which would stay with us till we reached Jaipur, our next destination.

Bad rooms, cheap price

Note: Hotel Paradise is an average looking building from outside and below average from the inside. But I'm still only talking about the hallways. Once you get into the rooms, it's even worse. The rooms end as they begin and have stained bedsheets. Not for anyone who wants even an iota of luxury! But for all this, the rooms were charged at Rs. 700 per night, for everybody in one room.

07 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John.

The next morning we got up to see the only thing in Agra - the Taj Mahal. Somebody suggested that we should all wear white and I hesitated quite a bit, but I was overpowered by everyone's willingness and had no choice but to comply.

So there we were, all dressed up in white tshirts, but covered with jackets, so wearing white was really pointless.

At the Taj Mahal. L-R: (Men) John, Chandan, Manish, Pedro (Women) Roopali, Alpana.

Taj Mahal was wonderful and the only problem there really are the guides. Every guide has an ID that shows he is genuine and with a fixed price, but they don't really. The walk from the car park to the Taj is about half a kilometer and takes you some 10 minutes at leisure. The guides start pitching in for their services right from there and the prices vary from Rs. 300 to Rs. 150, along the way from the car park to the ticket counter.

If you take my advice, don't get a guide. They don't provide you with any information that you wouldn't have got off the internet anyway. The only advantage they have is that they can take you through each structure and carving and embossing in the Mahal and give you some history behind it. However, I suggest you take a virtual tour of the Taj Mahal and then take a print out of Taj Mahal's info from Wikitravel. Once you have this in place, go ahead and take a tour of the mausoleum at your own ease. When I took the virtual tour, I was amazed at how much the guide had not told us!

Also, don't take the horse rides from the car park to Taj Mahal, for two reasons - (1) They tell you its a kilometer but it isn't. You will pay for it pointlessly. (2) The horses are very badly kept and I persuade you to not encourage it.

Another thing you should keep in mind, in case you do decide to take a guide, is to factor in other expenses within the Taj that the guide will not tell you about. This includes the money you will have to pay to the man who takes care of your shoes or alternatively gives you shoe covers. Shoe covers are given only to foreign nationals who pay Rs. 750 instead of Rs. 20 that Indians have to pay. For a price of Rs. 10 for your group, you can get shoe covers. Alternatively, you can leave your shoes there free of cost, but the guide usually asks you to tip the shoe caretaker with Rs. 10 for your group. You may choose not to pay, of course. Also, since you are not allowed to take any belongings inside the Taj for security reasons (not even water) except your cell phone and camera, the guide uses this to his advantage and tells you that he can show you the specialty of the stones used using a torch (that you obviously could not carry) that is owned by some insider. He borrows that fellow's torch and shows you how light travels through the stones (it is beautiful, by the way) and then asks you to pay another Rs. 10 to the fellow he borrowed the torch from.

Again, take my advice, don't use a guide! Use your cell phone to light up the stones and don't pay to keep your shoes in the free area.

Note: Because of this wonderful effect on the stones, the Taj Mahal looks very beautiful in moonlight. Night viewing is allowed on certain days, according to this chart. Try to plan your trip accordingly. We missed it, but you should not!

Oh and did I mention, the Taj has a "May I Help You" counter with nobody to help you!!

We then headed for Agra Fort later in the afternoon after spending quite a while at the Taj. Unfortunately, most of Agra fort was under renovation and as usual, nobody at the ticket counter told us of this. And shouldn't they be offering you a discount if you don't get to see the whole place?? Anyway, we were sick of guides by now so we didn't take one. We just pranced around coz the weather was so perfect and the place was beautiful. Decorative gardens adorned spaces overlooked by edifices with large corridors on all sides. I especially liked the towering fort walls coz they gave great accoustics, perfect for singing "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone". Which I did :)

And that kinda finished Agra for us. After the fort, we sat down for evening snacks and headed back to the hotel. The next morning, we were leaving for Jaipur.

08 Jan 2009 People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John.

Jaipur is 235 kms or 5.5 hrs away from Agra. On the way, falls the famous Fatehpur Sikri, where lies the tomb of a saint Salim Chisti, who Emperor Akbar followed devotedly. The place is really peaceful and it's entrance, the Buland Darwaza is mammoth in size. The only problem is that there are quite a few bee hives in and around the place, and the most conspicuous are the ones under the dome of the Buland Darwaza itself! Not that the bees sting anybody or anything, but the entire marble flooring is strewn with dead bees. Ugh.

I did meet a very interesting man at Fatehpur Sikri. He said that he wouldn't charge anything to tell us a few things about the tomb, the catch being (that we would figure out later) that he would show us some marble artifacts which we could buy if we chose to. Fair enough! So he told us some interesting things and I got talking to him in general. So he was telling me that a lot of people from Agra, especially guides and such who help foreign tourists, get hitched up with some tourists and even get married. In fact, he said his best friend got married to a Spanish woman and was now living in Barcelona in Spain! How cool is that!!

Buland Darwaza. L-R: Me, Chandan, John, Roopali, Pedro, Nanu.

We then continued on our way to Jaipur and decided to make a short stop at Bharatpur Sanctuary. We didn't expect to stay there long, but we wished we would. It's a really calm and serene place. You get bicycles on hire for Rs. 25 each and you can cycle around the Sanctuary the entire day. We saw so many species of birds, small and big....and it was really romantic....it's worth having a one day picnic at the sanctuary and just looking around and absorbing the purity of the place.

Cycling our way through the sanctuary

We finally had to leave by 1800 hrs when the sanctuary shut, promising to recommend this place to everyone. So guys, if you're in this part of India, you HAVE to go to Bharatpur Sanctuary. We also thought first, "who wants to see birds???", but this place is more than just birds. It has a whole different aura around it...and you just must experience it!

So finally, late in the evening, we were on our way to Jaipur yet again.

While we were on the highway, we saw road signs to Mehendipur. Now Mehendipur was once a topic of discussion many years back when we were in college when our friend Saurabh Agarwal told us that it was a place where possessed people could not come back from. We decided that if it was on the way, we had to go there! And so we took a slight detour to go to Mehendipur....the temple that possessed people cannot leave!

Once there, it was just like any other regular temple. We could not see any possessed people and Nanu, Chandan and I were the ones most interested to find out where they were. We asked a couple of people and they all feigned ignorance. We were almost about to give up hope as we walked out the exit of the temple when we heard groaning sounds coming from our left. I looked to my left and my eyes followed the stairs leading up to another level, at the end of which, there was a woman...no a girl...who was moving her head violently from side to side...almost headbanging...and making strange groaning sounds. I stood still and my heartbeats increased almost twofold. And then in a few moments i said to Chandan..."Let's go up".

Steadily, we walked up and past the girl. She was unfazed by our presence. We entered a dark room to see busts of scary gods to the right. Then suddenly, a noise from the left made me turn my head to see a girl somersaulting very vey agressively across the length of the room and falling on her back with loud thuds. Over and over again. In one corner of the room was a man mumbling things to himself. This was it! The possessed people! Ooh the adrenaline!

Nanu, Chandan and I stayed on while the rest of the gang chickened away. After a few minutes of walking around the room and looking at the "exhibits", we left too, as nothing new was happening. As we walked out of the temple premises, against the outside wall of the temple, we saw many people stuck to the walls, either mumbling real loud or groaning, moaning and grunting. How did we miss this while entering??? It was 2000 hrs and the temple was shutting down for visitors. As we stood and watched the people, the girls from upstairs started coming down the stairs and walked off right in front of us with their parents/friends as if nothing had ever happened to them. Eh? What was this? It was all an act! Lol. The men stuck to the temple wall though continued to groan at themselves. I stared at one man real hard and when his eye caught mine, I smiled, and he smiled in return. WTF! So now I knew this was a load of bullshit and I was ready to leave. I took some videos of the insanity and walked away.

We joined the rest of the gang at a streetside hot milk vendor and drank some steaming milk in clay cups. On the road again in the car, we had an equally steaming discussion on whether the temple was a hoax or not, again with two factions and some fencesitters.

By the way, immediately after I came back to Mumbai, I lost my phone and with it, all the Mehendipur photos and videos. Coincidence? Let the debate continue!

Still 08 Jan 2009. People: Alpana, Manish, Roopali, Nanu, Pedro, Chandan, John + Gayatri.

Anyway, we reached Jaipur at 2200 hrs finally. Accommodation was already booked as John has many relatives in Jaipur and somebody got us a reservation at a hotel for Rs. 1000 per room per night with 3 rooms for all of us. We checked in and Pedro and I went to the airport to pick up Gayatri who was joining us. The vehicle from Ranthambore was still with us, and after picking Gayatri up, we were gonna let the car go. Gayatri was waiting for us at the airport for a good half an hour at least and was not pleased at all. Apparantly everyone at the airport was glancing at her like they'd never seen a girl before. Well they musn't have seen a lone girl at the airport anyway. After going back to the hotel, we had a fulfilling dinner at John's friend's restaurant and went to sleep after many games of Uno, which was the official sport of the trip!