Jaipur

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It took quite a while to drive to Jaipur, on the way we visited Fatepur Sikri – one of the old capitals of India – fascinating. It was interesting to note the change in scenery as soon as we crossed the Rajasthan border. The land was much more arid with fields filled with sand and dust. We saw women carrying pots and rice bags on their heads and camels pulling carts filled with bags of flour etc. We stopped to take a photo of a herd of camels in a field but were immediately approached by a guy demanding 10 rupees for the picture! It wasn’t even that good a picture. He didn’t ask for any money from the Indian guys next to us who were videoing the camels – who then insisted on videoing me with my white skin! Thank God I haven’t got blond hair!

Mandir Thikana Galtaji, Jaipur
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I’m feeling a little exhausted today from all the hassle we’ve been getting, it’s like they see us and dollars signs go ‘kerching’ in their eyes! They insist on showing us all this stuff, even though we explain we have no money. They give us drinks and sit us down while explaining how everything’s made. It was interesting to see a Kashmiri carpet being made but obviously we couldn’t afford the £700 they were charging! We explained we don’t even have a house, let alone a job but they still push it. It’s really draining. Also, everybody is out for commission and you really can’t trust anybody. I chose some material to have a Punjabi suit made for £25 but when we went back the next day, they had used different material and the stitching was awful. I looked like a clown in blue polyester pyjamas! It was a good job we agreed not to pay for it if we didn’t like it once made so we didn’t lose any money but we think they tried it on with us – using a lesser quality material and poor workmanship. Anyway, sightseeing has been great, India’s an amazing country. Our driver even cooked dinner for us which was delicious – probably not too hygienic but no sign of Delhi belly yet…two days later…we spoke to soon. The morning we were due to drive to Ranthambhore we both woke up with severe stomach pains. Not nice.

...women carrying pots and rice bags on their heads and camels pulling carts filled with bags of flour etc...