Day 5 - Jaipur, India Day Tour

Day 5 - Sunday, January 21st - Jaipur, India Day Tour

LET'S GET TO IT!!!!!!!

Today was the first day with TashM and I together in India!!!! WOO HOO!!!! She made it, and we were off, and without even missing a step!!!!! We got up after an hour sleep! TashM was OFF with her picture taking!!!!

Here is the only pic I have of our first room at the CUTEST HOTEL EVER!!!! Now mind you that I had JUST woken up, and TashM thought it would be cute to take a picture of me... RRrrright!!!!! I ran back in the doorway before she got a full shot at least! hehehe We got dressed and were told that we needed to switch rooms, which was no problem. The hotel said that they would take care of everything while we were out... GREAT!!!

Next we went to breakfast at the hotel which was included in our package and I didn't know about. NEVER have I EVER seen someone be SO EXCITED as TashM was at breakfast. It was SO FUNNY!!! I had to DRAG her away from the food, otherwise we would have NEVER left for our tour that day!!!!!!

Our first stop was "The Pink City"... sounds like my kind of city!!!! As you can see, it is more of a beige, but still all the same, pretty cool!!!! The entire city was this color!!!!!

Here is a side view of the same buliding. As you can see the four men standing there staring, this was something that we were immune to at this point. This is where I also ran into my second snake charmer experience. No need for another picture... hehehe

This was our second stop of the day... "Siromini Palace". This was a beautiful palace...

Here is a cool picture I took of two men through a peep hole in the palace...

This is a picture of one of the elephants that you could pay and take up the mountain if you wanted. After the first elephant ride experience in Thailand of almost dying, we decided against riding an elephant up a HUGE MOUNTAIN!!!! HA!!!!

Here is a cool picture TashM took from one side of the palace. Notice the guys at the far right of the picture taking our picture... HYSTERICAL!!!!

After that palace, we headed to lunch. On the way we passed a procession on the street. The colors the women wear in India are INCREDIBLE!!!!

Here is a REALLY GREAT picture that TashM took of me at lunch. That prior comment was REALLY EXTREMELY SARCASTIC!!!!! This picture is a PRIME reason why I should NEVER NEVER NEVER leave the house without make-up!!!!!! hehehehe I did have to put this picture in though because it was one of the most AMAZING resturants I have EVER been too. It was a vegetarian resturant. SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! And SOOOOO much food. What we couldn't finish, we got boxed up and gave to a little girl on the street, more on that to follow.

Next we went to "Jantar Mantar". Here is a picture of the place. At first glance, looks like some steps, pretty boring. Little did we know that this would be the MOST AMAZING PLACE!!!!

Here is your traditional "tourist picture" that we HAD to do!!!! HA!!!!!

This was a staircase that leaded to the sky, and then STOPPED!!!! SOOOO COOL!!!!! This was were we got caught taking pictures without paying our camera fee, (yes, there are camera fee's at EVERY palace, WHAT?!?!?!?!) and they tried to charge us double. NO WAY!!!! Just so you know, we didn't at first think that we were going to take any pictures as it was just steps. We did go and pay the fee, but NO WAY was I going to pay double!!!! There is that stubborn side of me!!!! hehehehe

Now I KNOW I am tall... BUT COME ON!!!!!! hehehe This is where the laughter started...

I don't know what specifically happened, but we started laughing and couldn't stop. Here is a pic of TashM. That look of TOTAL FEAR is COMPLETELY HONEST. I made her sit there for a picture. There is nothing but air underneath her. Some stairs about 20 feet down, but other than that... AIR!!!!! hehehehe

At this point, there are two guys, about mid-twenties I would guess that say... "VERY FUNNY GIRLS!!!! Girls or Women?" TashM VERY quickly says "WOMEN!" We BUST up laughing and continue on our way, deciding which stairway down to take. I of course choose the one that has a dead end. SO FUNNY!!! TashM is CONVINCED that I did it on purpose so that she had to do more stairs. We laugh even harder, which neither of us thought possible at this point. We pass the guys laughing harder than the first time and they laugh also now.

On to the next staircase...

Now with me being 5'11", and my legs be 4'0" in themselves (hehehe) these steps were just fine with me. TashM on the other hand, 5'9" in height, they were a bit bigger for her. While I was "one stepping" the stairs, TashM was "two stepping" it. I HAD to turn around and get a picture of it!!!! We could not stop laughing... SO MUCH FUN!!!! It was one of those moments that you both are laughing SO HARD that your stomach is not just in pain, but it feels like it is going to separate from your body!!!!!

This picture is TOTALLY POSED just for TashM. hehehe

Here is a cool picture that TashM took, for real, of me!!!! I am still laughing here!!!! I wish I could convey the sheer and utter happiness that we had throughout this trip, but specifically here at this location. I hadn't had this much fun in a REALLY long time!!! Great Friends Rock!!!

Here is a palace that we didn't want to pay to go into as it was WAY to expensive, it looked VERY similar to another we had been to, and we wanted to shop!!! hehehe This is a picture of two of my friends that I made.

We went, and shopped and bargained, till we had gone to all the shops in the area. After we finished shopping there, we were on our way to the next palace. We still had our food from lunch as we hadn't given it away yet. A young girl had been watching us the whole time we were shopping, and we decided to give it to her.

Here is a picture of her, her mom and baby sister, and her grandmom laying down in the back that you can't see. The way that the light was shining right on her face was SO AMAZING!!! Talk about capturing a moment!!!! It reminded me of the song that Simon Pike and I wrote, "For Every Child" for the UNICEF Benefit here in Korea... specifically the line "...For Every Child, a smile that's as bright as the morning sun..."

Next we went to "Jayger Fort". This place was JUST what we needed after shopping... It was BREATHTAKING!!! VERY scary at points, but unbelievable!!!!!

This is a shot at one point in the walk we took that was literally STRAIGHT DOWN!!! No barriers, no protection, wobbly rocks... VERY SCARY!!!! While I am CLEARLY pretending to be scared here, it is because I am already on the other side of the opening. I am SURE it was a pretty funny site to see me crossing the opening. Mom, don't worry... I made it safe!!! :)

Here is a picture TashM took of me... pretty cool!!!! It was a SAFE opening, hehehe. The view really was awesome. This was a very relaxing place.

You will notice the "fog" in most of these pictures throughout India. It is not fog, but pollution. India at times was VERY hard with breathing. You would go to wash your hands, and the water would be black from all the dirt. We washed our hands ever hour or two, and this NEVER changed.

This next place that we stopped was one of the "required" stops on the tour. Every city we went to had a "required" stop. These were shops that were WAY overpriced for unknowing tourists. Not to mention that the drivers and hotels got a percetage of whatever you bought. We didn't buy anything at these places. Denish, my first taxi driver, told me all about these. He wanted to make sure that I didn't get taken advantage of. This was one of the many things that he told me about. Again, more on him later...

This picture is of TashM and I in a traditional Sari. We didn't buy them, and the two men that INSISTED we try one on knew that we wouldn't, but still they INSISTED. We realized VERY quickly why... The way that you put on a Sari is you wrap it around at the bottom (top of my jeans) and tuck it in, (top of my jeans) then you fold (4x) and tuck it in (top of my jeans) and then drape it over your shoulder. Needless to say, I suppose that the man thought that I was going to let him "tuck in" the Sari into my jeans... HELL NO!!!! He started to try to do it, and I said "It's OK, I will do it." He proceeds to still try to do it saying "It's OK, I know the correct way." I then say, "No, it's OK, I will do it. You just tell me how." He proceeds, "It's OK, I will do it so it is right." I then say, VERY forcefully, "NO, I WILL DO IT!" He backed off. TashM and I were DYING LAUGHING at him. hehehehe If he really thought I was going to let him put his hands down my jeans he was EXTREMELY IGNORANT!!!! Clearly he didn't know he was dealing with a gal who was not afraid to say NO! hehehe Anyway, he didn't touch me and we got a REALLY COOL PICTURE out of it!!!!

After this stop we stoped at a carpet factory, another "required" stop... NOW COME ON, did they really think that they were going to sell us a carpet!?!?!?!? They were gorgeous, but COME ON!!!! Needless to say, we didn't last there for long, I mean you can't try on a carpet... hehehe

The day ended a bit earlier than we expected, but it turned out for the better. On our way to our new room in the hotel, there was a REALLY cool stairwell. We decided to take some pics...

Here I am TRYING to be a Calvin Klein Model, HAHAHA!!!! TRYING being the key word!!!

Here is a picture of the CUTEST BED EVER in the CUTEST HOTEL EVER, in our NEW ROOM!!!!!! I HAD to get a picture!!!!! Not that I would ever design my room this way, but with being in India, it was SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

Next we decide to try on our new, cheap, Sari's that we bought. Again, TashM thinking she is just SO CUTE, taking a picture when I am not ready. Don't worry, I get her back. hehehe

Here TashM is REALLY excited about her ice cream and fruit!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!

The end of the day was fast approaching, and we were reaching the, what Mom always called, our "bewitching hour"...

TashM likes to call this the "Shiny Purple People Eater". I wanted to try on a top she had bought, but forgot to unbutton the top button. DUMB, I know!!!! I deserved this picture. hehehe Besides, me being the shy entertainer I am, played it up a LITTLE. hehehehe

Today was a learning day for me, as was every day in India. However, today was a very special learning day as I learned some "Aussie terms". OK, here is what I learned... "Chewies" means gum, "Bum Bag" means Fanny Pack, "Brolly" is Umbrella, "Flogged" is tired, "Sunnies" is sunglasses, and I am still not sure the difference between "Fries, Chips Hot and Cold, and Wedges". I think wedges are like Potatoe Wedges you get at like KFC. Fries are the really skinny fries, Chips Cold are potatoe chips and Chips Hot are normal french fries... I think. Those Aussies are CRAZY!!!!! Also, aspertane, ya know the sweetener that is supposedly really bad for you and in all diet drinks... she pronounces it "aspire-tane". SO WIERD!!!! hehehe One thing to mention as a side note, again, poor TashM had "Jaipur Belly" today!!!!

Today was another day that we got CONSTANT STARES, especially at Janar Mantar. WHO CARES though!!! We had SUCH A GREAT DAY!!!!! Between laughing, TashM's billion pictures, and my eyes being closed in over half of them it was an AMAZING DAY!!!!