A Close Shave

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Udaipur was a lot cooler than the other places, being surrounded by lakes and mountains, so it was a nice change from the heat…it was still a pretty hot 35’C though! You may have heard of Udaipur because it’s where parts of the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ were filmed. It’s probably one of our favourite places we’ve been to because there’s a lot less hassle and the narrow, winding streets are filled with little cheap market shops rather than the big expensive tourist trap shops we’ve come across in other places. We spent our time here chilling out and wandering around which was nice. Manoj got asked if he wanted a joint by a guy leaning on a police car! Obviously he said no! The people seem more relaxed and friendly here! We watched the sunset from ‘Monsoon Palace’ on the top of a hill overlooking the city which was beautiful. We also saw a cow part way through giving birth! We didn’t stop to watch! The cows in the street are just amazing, getting on with there own business, not caring about the cars or people. At one point I was sandwiched between an auto-rickshaw and a huge bull! It was quite scary…but I didn’t die!

A temple in Udaipur
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With my beard getting a bit out of hand I thought it was time to have a shave so I opted for the traditional “Cut throat” Shave. For those of you who don’t know what is involved in a “cut throat” shave let me explain. First of all he lathers the shaving foam for a good 5 minutes. Then with a fresh blade the shave begins. At first it feels like you’ve been cut into the skin and going to end up looking like a exhibit from the bodies exhibition, but instead it’s just like the Gilette advert – a clean shave with only one blade. Then it comes to shaving the throat, which I think Vanya found scarier watching than I did. I think she had visions of blood squirting out of my jugular. You do tense up a little when the blade is on your throat but I survived and there was not a single sight of blood after the shave. I thought the worst was over and then the most painful part of the experience occurred – the aftershave! It felt like he was rubbing chilli powder into my face, but I remained cool. Then I had a face massage (which included a nose message for about a minute which was a little weird) which was great. The whole thing took about 20 minutes and cost a mere 25p! Definitely worth it and I would recommend it to everyone…..even women if they needed one!!!!

sandwiched between an auto-rickshaw and a huge bull!

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India has been amazing, we’ve both really enjoyed it but feel there is so much more to see so we’ll definitely be back. One thing I’ve wanted to write about is the driving but I waited until we’d left as I didn’t want to give my mum a heart attack! The driving is just CRAZY! Although still slightly organised in a weird sort of way. Basically, they ignore the lane markings and forget about the two way system. If they want to pass someone, they’ll beep and then begin to pull out. If it was clear, sometimes the car in front would wave us on and even if it wasn’t clear, our driver would judge whether or not there was enough space to squeeze through the middle! We found ourselves facing oncoming traffic at 80-100kms/hr on many an occasion – they would either dodge us or we’d pull in just as they were about to pass! I had to cover my eyes, I just couldn’t watch! I’d insisted on seatbelts but I really don’t think they would’ve made any difference if we’d hit a juggernaut head on at 100kms/hour! Ah well, we survived mum so no need to worry now!