VADOULOU

Some more from my phone

This is a belated post because we have not had wifi for 3 days.
We left Jodhpur at about 9h30—the market area was much quieter & so it was much easier to get out than getting in had proved. We headed North East on a relatively good Tarmac road. Traffic was relatively light but we had the usual cow avoidance slaloms but in addition we had to swerve around camels at one stage.
We passed by a railway line under construction & it was really strange to see women working along side the men, in fact there were probably more women than men. What is even stranger is that the women are all wearing brightly coloured saris & carrying spoil away in baskets on their heads. According to Vikram they work a 9 til 5 day with 1 hour off for lunch. There is no doubt that the temperatures are lower here but during the day it is very pleasant & around 22 degrees. This is great for holidays but I wouldn’t like to be doing manual labour. Every village we go through the kids all wave. Just before we reached our next hotel, Vikram stopped to buy something & I was able to get great photos of the local bicycle repair shop & the sweet shop next door.
There are many motor bikes here & they usually have more than 1 person aboard. The sari clad ladies ride pillion side-saddle style &often there is a small child &/or shopping involved too. The highest number we have seen on one bike is 4 people ( record held by Cambodia where we counted 7) but the highlight has to be 2 men & a pig that we passed the other day. Doug was able to capture that shot on the camera so can’t post it—–sorry.
We are now staying at a Nature Reserve/farm about halfway(ish) between Jodhpur & Jaipur. The contrast between here & Jodhpur is immense. The great great grandfather of the 2 brothers who now run the Reserve decided to build a dam in the late 1800’s thus converting previously barren land into an oasis. He encouraged folks to come & use the water & was therefore responsible for establishing a sustainable local community. The dam is named Chhatra Sagar in his memory. In the early 1900’s it became a popular venue for hunting parties & the like with people sleeping in tents. The current generation have established a luxury tented resort & we are now glamping on top of the dam in our very own tent. There are about 12 tents in total with a dining tent & Lounge area. We have all mod cons except wifi & have just been served a rather sumptuous lunch. We have a nature walk planned for this afternoon & a hill climb to see the sun go down.
We did a 3 hr bird spotting walk around the lake & saw the sun go down behind the tents. As well as birds we saw antelope & wild boar. The 2 guides were able to spot the birds so easily & set up a telescope so that we could see them too. We also had a pair of binoculars each & we were both surprised by the enormous variety of birds to see. It was a hugely enjoyable & very different afternoon. At least I don’t feel so guilty about having a big lunch—we must have walked a good 5 or 6 km in total. We were accompanied by a Great Dane & 2 terriers—lovely dogs who seemed to enjoy their afternoon too.
Now we are getting ready for dinner—more of that later.
We met up with an Australian couple + 4 kids who are here on holiday. She adores France & they are going to rent a chalet in the Alps next winter for 7 weeks. We enjoyed a G & T together around a bonfire before dinner. Dinner —- again a culinary masterpiece—no choice menu makes it so much easier—especially when a mini bonfire is placed at your feet to keep you warm. The sides of the dining tent had been lowered so the wind was less noticeable. We tottered back to our tent to find that electric fires had been plugged in & we had a hot water bottle each in the bed—so cosy & it is only 21h30!!!! Coffee is ordered for 7h30 & so another day will begin.
Slept like a log, sent to sleep by the call of deer( rutting season) & the jackals. We were warm & toasty all night long. Coffee arrived as promised & so another day begins. It was hard to poke your toes out of the bed but Doug gallantly switched the fires on again. It is much windier today so feels very fresh, I wore my warm outer clothes for the first time. Incidentally we have rediscovered pomegranates, since for both of us childhood memories were of picking out seeds from inside a dry husk. The pomegranates here are delicious & nothing like those of childhood. We are off to visit the local village this morning.
Our village & farm trip was amazing. Firstly our guide Raj, one of the owners, explained how land was divided after independence in 1947. His family lost quite a bit of land despite having been the ‘founding fathers’ of the area. Land was divided & distributed depending on how fertile it was & the more fertile the land then the less you were allowed to keep. However in the modern India land is supporting more & more people mainly because the succession laws are similar to those in France—I.e. equal rights for all the family & whilst the family unit is strong, the risk is that the plots become smaller & smaller as they are sub-divided.
We started with the surrounding farm land & saw the crops that they grow. Irrigation is the main feature & all the water is available because of the construction of the dam. The dam raised the local water table & therefore wells were easier to sink. The fields are all divided by water channels & each part of the field is flooded in succession. The soil is quite sandy so to form the channels it is mixed with animal dung to make a clay like substance. To flood a certain area they simply break the channel wall & then rebuild it once watering is complete. Crops being grown are aniseed, chilies,aubergine, millet,lentils & henna. Henna is an easy crop as it needs no irrigation & lasts for about 18 yrs before it needs replacing. Our guide was surprised to learn that henna is very popular in France.
We then went into the local village that was created when the dam was built. Although the buildings are very simple the layout of the village has been thought out so for example the dust from the potter is not near the building where oil is stored. In this village there is a distinct lack of plastic which is the main pollutant of other places we have been. The villagers gather it up & still throw it away but outside the village boundary! The houses are very simple & we were welcomed into some of them. The local shepherd & his family were happy to show us how they lived. At the potter’s house he actually threw some pots on his wheel & then his wife decorated them. He did all this squatting on the floor & getting the wheel to spin manually on a short sharp piece of wood. His wife also has a sewing machine & makes tarpaulins from used & washed sacks. The village operates on a barter system except for the silversmith who wants cash. The potter makes pots every 6 months & receives grain in return from each house. Some he keeps for his own needs & the rest he sells at market to give him cash so he can pay his electricity & mobile phone bills!!!!
We went into the local school & saw the children learning their sums & letters. They were all very keen to show us their books & the slates on which they were working. Although it is a very simple way of life everybody is happy & no one is hungry. They are poor in our terms but rich in the benefits of family & communal living.
We passed a very peaceful afternoon enjoying the warmth of the sun & watching the animals & birds. At 17h we went up a nearby hill to watch the sunset. Although quite steep it was not a difficult ascent & our guide was the guy from yesterday & his 3 dogs. As we reached the summit we were greated by one of the staff offering us G& T—-couldn’t refuse! The sunset was spectacular after which we wended our way back to await dinner. We passed a happy half-hour talking to 3 American ladies who were more than happy to give us travel tips for USA. Dinner was another culinary feat & we are now back in our warm & cosy tent— even earlier than last night.
Tomorrow we move on to pastures new & another adventure will begin. We will be heading for Jaipur which is a journey of about 5 hrs.

I suppose that the first thing that really sinks in is that there are people and activity everywhere. Even in the semi desert areas, when you think that you’re miles from anywhere, you cannot travel for 30 seconds without seeing someone, as well as at least one of the following – cow, water buffalo, goat, camel, monkey or dog. And the people are either going somewhere carrying something, or coming back from somewhere carrying something, or buying something, or selling something, or eating. It’s just constant movement and constant commerce. You can understand how so many Indians in the UK became market traders and corner shop owners – it’s in their genes.
The second thing Is the driving. After 200 metres of our very first dual carriageway we were faced by a JCB coming directly towards us in the outside lane. Vikram didn’t even comment on it! And bicycles and motorbikes use whatever ground is available to go in either direction – the road, the hard shoulder, the centre of the road – it’s all fair game. Vikram simply slaloms around the animals and all the other road users without slowing down. He says that the animals are very slow and very predictable – it’s the pedestrians that he has to watch! I’ve never had the camera ready at the right time to catch the motorbikes and tuk tuks passing at speed on both sides of a cow in both directions! The driving is skillful, only occasionally stupid, and NEVER seems to involve road rage.
Having walked around 3 big cities, it’s evident that some people are poor, but at the same time, there’s absolutely no evidence of starving people, and we have seen very few beggars etc. What we have seen is what appears to be a structured and busy way of life.
All the kids want to talk, calling out hello, how are you? And what is your name, but when we reply, we’ve exhausted their vocabulary. Or they don’t speak Yorkshire!
We’ve been reminded of our friends at various times. Seeing the Gateway To India reminded us of Passage Through India, our favourite restaurant in KL, and the meals with Niumal and Minona and their family. And then a Nasi Goreng last night, one of our Malaysian favourite dishes ( I know, it’s really Indonesian ) confirmed that no-one does it like Theo and Marietta! Nor the Indonesian meals prepared by Marleen and Bert. And if our memory serves us well, Dan and Greta met here in India, and lived happily ever after, travelling the world in the process.
And then today, we saw the zip wire adventure here in Jodhpur, which again, if our memory serves us well, was installed by Barbie and Owens son!
Even in the very best of the hotels there are striking examples of the complete absence of health and safety regulations. Unlit steps, different tread depths, changes in levels, sometimes water filled, flaming braziers so close to the table that I thought that Lou had caught her clothes, very low balustrades, electrical issues almost resulting in 2 fires etc. You do need to be careful.
We do seem to have been lucky with the weather though. The people we are meeting who are travelling south from Delhi are all saying how wet and cold it has been, but as we’ve moved north, the days are still hot and sunny, even though the mornings and evenings are fresh. And tomorrow we’re off to stay 2 nights on a farm, and so we will have experienced quite a good slice of Indian life. Thank you Audleys!
And then back to the food. We’re really enjoying Indian food, but after 2 weeks, we have just given our stomachs a little respite with some Asian, Arabic choices with less spices. There’s no doubt but that the food certainly keeps your digestive systems active!!
And finally, we were in the fort today and a pigeon deposited on an Indian ladies head. When we explained to Kumal that in Britain this was regarded as lucky, he said that it was the same in India – you’re lucky that elephants can’t fly!
We’re having a ball in a fantastic country.

Whilst at the fort & palace we were treated to a demonstration of how to make a turban. 9 m of fabric & a few twists & turns & it is done. The chap with the beret is Kunal our guide & the yellow turban wearer gave the demo.
The Palace is sumptuous & the architecture fabulous—-so intricate.

We left Narlai with Vikram at about noon. The morning had been fascinating especially having done the village tour with Lolo. Vikram said the journey would take about 4 hrs but in fact took about 3 hrs. It was a mixture of rural & main roads & the closer we got to Jodhpur then the more exciting it became. There were more lorries on the road & the majority of the time we were on single carriageway. A dual carriageway is under construction which looks as if it should be ready within 12 months. In the meantime you have to cope with ever increasing volume of vehicles, everyone jockeying for position, cows, goats & bullocks to name but a few of the hazards. However, we made it in one piece & arrived safely at our hotel. It was obvious from the housing that Jodhpur is a more affluent city but it still has it’s fair share of motorbikes, tuk-tuks & animals not to mention people everywhere. Our hotel is in the middle of the old part of the city & we had to go through the local, very busy fruit & veg market to get to it. The hotel is called the Raas & is fabulous—a real oasis amongst the hubbub of Indian life. From our room we have a great view of the Fort, for which Jodhpur is famous. We settled in, had a late lunch & generally relaxed. The climate here is certainly cooler in the mornings & evenings but day time temperatures are pleasantly warm. We ate dinner outside with our own personal brazier of hot charcoal to accompany us. The other accompaniment was the broadcast from the local mosque—which cannot be ignored. We have been surprised by the number of Muslims in India & last night the Imam was in garrulous mode. I have no problem with anyone following a Faith but I do object to it being inflicted on others by very loud loudspeakers.
Monday morning saw us out & about by 9h30 with our Guide Kunal. He took us to various points around the city & we were surprised to find that there is a wall dating from 14th century. It no longer entirely surrounds the city but did in the beginning. It is vast & you could almost be forgiven for thinking you were in China, such is the scale of it. From there we went into the fort & were regaled with all the beautiful buildings, wall hangings, carpets, armour, carriages etc. After several hours in the Fort we began the walk down into the town seeing local life & commerce at very close quarters. I can honestly say that at no point did we feel unsafe or the need to watch our pockets etc. Everyone is very friendly & the local children like to practice their English & have their photos taken. We were with Kunal for about 5 hrs & enjoyed every minute of it.
I will post some hotel pictures but will have to do the others from my phone—when it has recharged!