good times and goodbyes

The rest of my time in Jaisalmer was fun. I met up with Martin the next day - he had done a thirteen hour bus trip from Udaipur! We hung out which was great! He is only 24 and seems to have a lot more energy which was good for me. We visited the beautiful lake that is a few kilometers away from the fort and spent some time there. We hired a big blue fiberglass swan paddle boat and took a trip around the lake. I am definitely unfit after almost 2 months of mooching!

That evening we bumped into Jan and Mike from Udaipur. We spent a lovely afternoon with them chatting about everything - life, love, work, marriage, kids, travel, Thai Culture, Western Culture vs. Eastern Culture...it was good!

We went out for dinner with them to an "Australian Cafe" in the fort - one of the establishments that has definitely tainted the old feel of the fort. But they served vegie burgers, and the rest of the gang was over Indian and wanted to jump at this opportunity! The guy that runs the Cafe apparently lives in Aus for 6 months of the year. To prove this to us he threw in the word "bloody" into every sentence. He also offered us "bloody G'nT's", and any alcohol we desired and told us that "if we didn't bloody like the bloody veggie burgers then we didn't have to bloody pay". I personally thought the veg burgers were disgusting - I don't even like burger. But everyone else seemed pleased!

It was a good day and night. Both Martin and I were so pleased and honoured to be invited to Jan and Mike's wedding in Bangkok. I am so excited for Graeme to meet these guys, they are so lovely it feels like we've been friends for forever!

Martin and I also managed to book a 6am bus to Bikaner. The plan was to do a Camel Safari in Bikaner...

On the first night in Bikaner, Martin and I managed to get in touch with some Swedish people who wanted to join on the camel safari. I was still not that excited about the prospect of a day and nite on a stinky camel but agreed on the basis that this would be an unusual experience.

The morning of the Camel Safari arrived and I had managed to psych myself up. I was so excited. But then the clouds blew over and the 2mm of rain that pours over the dessert a year came down in buckets. I opted out of the safari - I didn't have any waterproof clothing. The rest went. I was a little, okay very, disappointed but I made up for it.

The hotel owner felt sorry for me so took me on a bike ride to the cinema. It was pretty hair raising but a good adrenaline rush. I was pleased because Salaame Ishq was showing. A film I had wanted to see since arriving in India and hearing the popular song everywhere. As with all Bollywood films this one was 3 hours long. I planned to spend an hour and a half watching. At the cinema I kind of latched onto 3 helpful Indian girls who showed me inside and let me sit with them. And then the film started.

I was hooked. It's a soppy romcom, but so so lovely! I really got into the music and the dancing - so did the rest of the audience who were in full participation whistling and howling! I cried and laughed and cried some more. It was fab.

Spent that evening reading and having some me-time. I also found the best restaurant in India called Hotel Laxi Niwas. The "kitchen" is set up on the side of the road and is made of make-shift fires and massive silver pots that bubble and brew with numerous varieties of masala and veg. Adjacent to this is a massive clay pot that has a fire burning in it. This pot is used to cook chappatti on the side of the walls. And it is definitely the best chappati in India. Wow. I spent a lot of time just watching all the man make about 5 chappatti a minute. And when they come out they are warm and so fresh...hmmm.

The rest of the time in Bikaner was spent playing a card game called "shithead" with Martin and the Swedes. We had a good time. We also did a day trip to a one horse, or in the case of India one camel town called Kolayat. It was nothing to write home about so we used it as an opportunity to play more card games along the man made lake.

My train back to Delhi that night was cancelled by 12 hours which meant only getting to Delhi a day late. ARGH! I was rather annoyed but you just have to let this sort of thing slide in India.

When I finally got onto the train the trip was not that bad. I slept a lot and also spent some time with an interesting couple from the US/Czech Rep. The guy had had cancer and he was telling me how he helped overcome it through his diet and changing his approach to life. His story was a really positive one. They were really nice and fed me heaps of Milk Cakes along the way and kept me entertained.

Won't detail the last day in Delhi because it was full of admin that didn't really happen. I was meant to change plane tickets and do all sorts of stuff but landed up spending most of the day figuring out how to send home a 10KG parcel of OLD clothes (I ask myself why!?) and a sleeping bag...hmmm. Raj, Nick's "houseboy" was very kind and came with me in the end. He was so helpful and in his broken English helped me get through the parcel ordeal. I was very grateful to him.

Saying Goodbye.

I left India in true India style. I rushed to the airport at 5.30am in a taxi. I arrived with a sore back from the bumpy road. And my flight was delayed. By SIX hours.

Delhi airport is not what you would expect an international airport to be. It is dead. It has about 2 shops, both which sell the same rubbish and a Subway. I tried to blag the BA lounge with my Silver card, but they don't have a BA lounge! I was horrified!

I had met a lovely Dutch girl in the queue for passport control, so we headed straight for Subway. The sandwhich I ate upset my stomach. I should have known not to trust any branded "veg delite!"

I spent most of the time listening to the Dutch girl, Yanneka's sad love story. She had met a Kashmiri guy on her last day in India a year ago and had come back to India to spend 3 months with him. She was really upset as she had to go back to Holland - she is only 21. I just listened to her talk and tried to give her some advice (!? what do you say!?). This seemed to kill time.

I am going to miss India.
I love India. It is beautiful and has so much to offer.
I love that it is so unpredictable and bears no reference to anything I am familliar with.
I love the way things work out when you least expect them to. I love the way your plans always change.
I love the way the people have such big hearts and look out for you. And I will miss their sense of brotherhood with one another. How they look out for one another.

I have learnt to be grateful for everything I have.
I have learnt not to judge. People are a lot more that you expect them to be. It doesn't matter what they have, it's who they are that is important.
I have learnt that love is about giving and not receiving.
I have learnt to give in and trust and to let it work out.