One day I went to India.: Sophie's choice, Thali, Gap yah and big forts.

15:54 Ahmedabad- Cadilac Hotel

In Ahmedabad for the first day of the series India vs. England! Already met one chap who is also here for the cricket, I am meeting him for dinner tonight to plan for tomorrow. The Stadium is about 2km outside of the city. Tickets cost 30 rupees about 35p for regular seats, for the barmy army section it costs 300 rupees. So cheap it makes me want to stay for the whole test! I really shouldn’t though, have to head north next back in to Rajasthan. The main problem is getting away from Ahmedabad. I should have booked a train ticket earlier but because it was Diwali last night everyone is travelling and seeing family for the next few days before the holiday ends. So if I can’t get a train tomorrow evening I am going to try to get a bus and if I can’t do that then I’ll just have to watch a full test match. Like Sophie’s Choice or something.

It feels like I have done a hell of a lot of travelling already, which is worrying. I have seen some amazing sights and met some nice people along the way which I suppose is what this travelling lark is about. In Udaipur I met Anna from Poland at the city palace, spent a couple nights with her for dinner including the all you can eat thali place. There must have been 20 waiters each coming round with there own individual thali dish dal, paneer masala, popadoms, chapatti, roti, these mini treacle pudding balls, coconut milk, aloo gobi, AS MUCH AS YOU WANT for 140 rupees. Anna in turn also introduced me to Rosie n semi-expat living in a caravan in kent for half the year then her house on the lake in Udaipur. Not sure if I could hack a caravan in Kent for half the year to live in India.

GAP YAH

I also met my favourite person so far on this trip his name was Matthew and he was on his gap yah. He was wearing ali baba trousers, sandles with straps past the ankle, had three bandanas around his head and was donning a quicksilver vest. THREE BANDANAS, One bandana sure your on a gap year go crazy, two bandanas okay trying to be a bit different or couldn’t decide which one I’ll let you off, Three bandanas wow.

Him and a few friends were having a ‘cheeky bit of garnja’ on the roof of the hotel. He was travelling around to meet all the beautiful people in India who ‘have so little but still manage to have a meaningful existence’ he talked about how back home he would never smoke a spliff but ‘when in rome.’ I was unaware marijuana was such an important part of India culture, he nodded slowly and silently in a way that suggested I had a lot to learn. He proceeded to offer me some. I explained with a little less irony then I had hoped ‘I can't I go straight to munchie town.’ He laughed then looked at me like he’d found a kindred spirit who knew his pain ‘OMG I get such bad munchies too, we’ve just ordered like 5 popadoms!'

He then proceeded to explain how ‘OMG I have spent so much today I’m going to have to go straight to the cash machine tomorrow and get some more dollar.’ The French girl who had joined us at this point then punctured his gap yah-ishness by asking ‘why do you need dollars in India?’ to which he replied hurriedly

‘Oh no I don’t mean actual dollars, I just say dollar when I mean money.’

‘Why though? Why not just say rupees?’

‘I say it coz I is gee’ he replied in as grime a voice he could muster. Him and his friends then giggled a lot. Each of his 3 friends taking a turn to say ‘gee’ in there respective grime voices.

The French girl replied ‘oh right’ I couldn’t tell if her smile was genuine or of utter confusion.

At this point I felt I’d got what I’d come for and went to bed.

I think the only way I can end this is bit is

NEEDLESS TO SAY I HAD THE LAST LAUGH

CHITTOR

Chittorgarh was ruddy awesome, a huge fort on the Rajasthan plains. For you History buffs out there, it is a fort that has seen some pretty gruesome battles and jauhars (the men dress in saffron robes go to battle to certain death the women and children throw themselves on the funeral pyres.) In the ‘Great Jauhar’ it’s though 13,000 women and children and 32,000 men died. Aside from the ghosts of self immolated spirits the fort has some temples (I have always loved a nice temple), large towers, a beautiful reservoir built into the wall of the fort, and yes a few monkey’s for good measure.

I’m not sure Chittor gets many tourists, before the bus had even stopped there were about 20 auto rickshaw drivers at my window shouting at me like children chasing an ice cream van. Each trying to persuade me to come with them, so they get commission from the hotel. 20 fully grown men shouting details of the hotel they know and how cheap they’d make it including ‘free rickshaw to hotel’, ‘hot water’ ‘nice restaurant’ then one of them shouted ‘free sightseeing’ all the rickshaw drivers laughed at him. There’s always one. I sat down to sort my stuff out once I got off the bus. They all surrounded me again.

One driver just sat down next to me whilst the chaos unfolded he just whispered tenderly ‘Nice hotel. Good price. Not far. Please sir… ….Please.’ I walked away with the more committed of the tuk-tuk pilot pack following me still shouting shit about their brother’s or friends hotel.

The train is much more laid back especially the journey I had yesterday from Udaipur to Ahmedabad. It was an old metre gauge train with sleeper and seating compartments only. It was a 13 hour journey stopping through every village with a train station along the way. Some had platforms others just a sign in the ground. It was great stopping at every larger village on the way for 30 minutes to have tea, lunch or dinner Having a cup of tea and some pakoras is now the only sustenance I accept on trains. I enjoy trains that stop for food. I also enjoy trains where I almost choke from firework smoke going through outer Ahmedabad.

I AM WATCHING TEST CRICKET IN INDIA TOMORROW.

Also I have a really fat swollen finger on my left hand. I’ve named it ‘my pink cigar’.

I AM WATCHING TEST CRICKET IN INDIA TOMORROW.

One day I went to India.

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Sophie's choice, Thali, Gap yah and big forts.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me