Week 56: Arrive at the border on time and ensure you are still driving on the correct side of the road (but I departed Bangladesh by plane!)

56th-1st from Jaipur to Kolkata to Bangladesh 9/24

The autorickshaw I had arranged to pick me up didn’t show. I waited for him for about 10 minutes after he was supposed to be there, and then went looking for another. Found one quickly and they agreed to go to the airport, same price. While waiting, I texted the bus company in Kolkata that I was leaving Jaipur and would be there by 1 PM, just in case. (pic: sun rising as I headed to the Jaipur airport)
















Although I was mad at them for scrapping my original flight and throwing me into this mess, I have to admit that Indigo has nice planes and friendly staff.

After landing, and getting my bag, I got a taxi to headed back into town. There was an incredible jam on the way, and I feared of missing my bus. To make it worse, my driver decided to stop for tea when we were a kilometer from the bus stand. I was so irritated; at least he offered me a cigarette…but I don’t smoke. I was excited to see all the signs for Durga Puja, the largest Hindu festival in Bengal, up around town. It’s coming up soon. (pic: sign in Kolkata during Durga Puja with the goddess' image)
















The bus company had understood the call from yesterday and even got the text this morning. They told me not to worry, that I had a seat on the 1 PM bus. I went and grabbed snacks for the ride.

On the bus I was sitting next to a little kid, quite a brat. There wasn’t really much of a jam leaving the city. But disaster struck 2 hours outside of the city. There were people rioting in the highway, and our bus stood still for 40 minutes. People started worrying we wouldn’t make the border crossing in time. Of course I was fretting as well. The rioters were angry about load shedding happening too often in their area.

We didn’t make it to the border in time. We arrived just after 6 PM and it closes at 6 PM. They hurried us all to the customs gate, through immigration, but customs wouldn’t open for us. We would have to spend the night in India. It was a bit more traumatic for me. Because I am a foreigner, they kept me in immigration to get “interviewed”. I worried they would let the rest of my bus through and not me if the “interviewer” didn’t show up. A guy from the bus company was in the room with me, and he told me not to worry. I trusted him. After sitting there for a half hour, the rest of the passengers consented that they wouldn’t be leaving tonight. It was frustrating for us all.
We sat in the bus company’s office for awhile, complaining, and then the bus took us all a few kilometers back down the road to a hotel for the night. Food and lodging all paid for by the company. During this period I befriended a young guy from Bangladesh. He was a cricket player for the under-19 team named Pana. It was really cool to meet a national level player. He showed me his passport full of foreign stamps from his team’s tours. I smiled at the fact that his occupation simply says “Player”. (pic: Pana's passport with his profession as "PLAYER.")















He and I roomed together in the hotel. We watched some TV and showered. Dinner was served late and all the bus passengers quickly ate up some rice, vegetables, and egg curry.

Obviously I was super frustrated. Instead of having 3 full days in Bangladesh, I would now essentially have 2, with a lot to get done. Annoyed on how it all played out. I was glad though that Pana was there, it helped so much to have a friend.

Not sure if I ever mentioned it, but everyone in south Asia compliments or comments on me being left handed.

56th-2nd in Dhaka 9/25

We woke up early at the hotel, still in India. I should be home already, and its frustrating to think about that. The bus was slow to leave, so we didn’t arrive at the time we wanted to when it opened at 6 AM. We didn’t arrive at the border until 6:45, and already it was pretty busy. (pics: my other busmates waiting for the bus to take us to the borer, the bus finally coming out of the parking lot in a small town in India near the border with Bangladesh)
















Again I was sat down to be ‘interviewed” and this made my whole bus have to wait outside customs until I was done. No one seemed angry at me. The border itself was pure craziness. People running everywhere, lines every which way. Long waits. In between the two borders lots of people stood waiting to cross. Porters tried to carry your things and demand tips. The Indian and the Bangladeshi sides were equally confusing. Except the Indian side had most things in one building. For Bangladesh you had to keep crossing back and forth across the road to hit each place. But I got stamped out fine, bought the onward ticket for the bus, and we were on our way again.

The ride back was uneventful. There wasn’t even a line at the Padma River to cross. We got on quickly and easily. As we neared Dhaka, our bus was going to go up and around through Uttara, so I got off to take a more direct city bus in. Pana came with me as he lives nearby in Mohammedpur. (pics: two launches hit while crossing the Padma River, the Padma River filled with small sailboats)
















After picking up my laptop from Diya’s and having Iftar there, I went home and quickly threw my stuff down and dropped in to see the guys downstairs about the furniture. Apparently Mehedi had skipped town and would not be buying my things. I was annoyed. But Mansur said he would buy it all, or a friend would, and not to worry. Of course I would, but I had no other choice but to go with it. I asked if they had all the money, and he said he did, all ready to go. I told him I’d be spending the night in Gulshan, and I’d be back at noon tomorrow.

I then headed across town to Naira’s. She had invited me over for dinner with her father. Her mom was out of town. We chatted, had dinner with her dad and many other people who were over to eat that night, including her brother and his friends. Dinner was great as always, and everyone was talking the entire time. After dinner, her cousin and cousin’s husband, Naira, and I went to the Westin. This was actually my first time going there to hang out, now in my last few nights of Dhaka. We met some people there, two of which I knew from the wedding last December. We had cake and hung out talking for over an hour.

56th-3rd in Dhaka 9/26

I ate breakfast at Naira’s. I had said goodbye the night before because I knew I had to leave early. I talked to one of her other cousins who stays there before I left.

I went to grab the final _FC pictures I needed of RFC, KFC, and FFC, and then headed to the Best Air office to confirm my luggage allowance for the flight. I had to go to the head office, and finding it was a bit hard. There, the woman at the booking desk told me not to worry, everyone in the company knows students can take an extra 10kg. I felt content.

I went home and told Mansur I was back to sell my stuff. He came up along with the guy he said would buy most of my things, his name was Mahib. Turns out, Mansur would only be buying my fridge, and Mahib was buying everything else. They asked for the price again, and I tallied it up at Tk15,000. Then they started bargaining, which had not happened yet, but I was afraid would come. He said he would buy for Tk10,000, and he wouldn’t budge when I said my lowest price was Tk12000. He knew I had no other choice, so I finally consented because some money is better than none. We settled on what was going to be included, and I showed them a pile of stuff they could take for free. I said I only wanted to keep the kitchen stuff to give to my boua.
They went to get the money and I started taking apart my bed. Mansur and him came back and Mansur started begging me to give him a lower price on the fridge. He said he didn’t have enough money and I asked what happened to the plenty of funds he had last night. Apparently not. I wouldn’t budge. I knew the landlady would buy it if he didn’t take it. He knew that too. He ended up giving only 3% less than what was agreed upon.

So we started packing up, no issues arising. I was helping them bring things downstairs. Then Mahib asked about my speakers. I had asked him earlier if he wanted them, and he said he didn’t so I did not include them in the price. However, apparently he didn’t recall this interaction and insisted the speakers were part of the deal and that he was taking them. I said no way unless he gave an extra Tk 1500, they were expensive. He threatened that if I didn’t give them to him included in the price, he wouldn’t take anything at all and asked for his Tk10,000 back.
I was shocked and appalled. I couldn’t believe he was really doing this. I said again that we had not said the speakers were part of it, and Mahib just rebutted asking me to give him his money back. I looked at all the other guys who were there as well, four in all, one being Mansur’s roommate and one being the guy’s brother. No one looked to be on my side. If anything they just shrugged. I was upset. I felt I was getting ganged up on, cheated, in the most unfair of situations. I didn’t’ know what to do. Where to turn.
Then I broke down. I couldn’t help it. All the emotions of my last days here, having to say goodbye, the stress, and now this, it just added up and all started coming out. I started crying and couldn’t stop. It was then they realized they’d gone too far. I was telling them how I wasn’t trying to cheat anyone, wasn’t trying to screw them, just trying to sell the things. I had already cut the price two thirds, feeling I’d done what they wanted. Then things took a turn. Realizing what they’d done, and feeling bad about it, they started hugging me. They tried comforting me and telling me it was all right, just a misunderstanding. Slowly I calmed down. I apologized for opening up all of a sudden, but they apologized as well for going too far in the whole situation.
That whole mess over, we went back to bringing all the furniture downstairs. They apologized again and again, and didn’t raise any more issues.
One of my friends told me later that it is not uncommon for Bangladeshis to see how far they can push someone in a business transaction. Other Bangladeshis know how to handle this technique, and will rebut appropriately, until an agreement is reached. But in this case, I wasn’t prepared, and they weren’t prepared for my response. My friend said that when they saw me display emotion in the transaction, something they wouldn’t have expected, they knew to back down. In a way my friend said, it’s all a façade of being tough, and they don’t really mean it full and through. (pics: my room getting packed up, Mansur/Mahib and the others moving things out of my room, Mahib/Mansur helping to take apart my bed)






























After they’d left and my room was empty, Ragini came by. I was still packing some things. She brought fuchka and some other snacks from a place that was actually open during Ramadan, and we shared those and told each other stories of our travels in India.

Tonight for Iftar I was meeting up with Karen and Erin at Nando’s. The Iftar fare was decent. I shouldn’t have ordered the medium flavor and just gone with mild. I was in no mood for super spicy right now. But Nando’s did a good Iftar spread, however I’ll still say Pizza Hut is the best Iftar offer in Dhaka. We talked about where I’d been, and touched on the various things we’ve all been up to.
I rushed home in the now pouring rain. I got soaked. From head to toe. My boua was supposed to come by tonight to wash clothes, as I had worked out with her. But she didn’t. With the rain and the flooded streets, which even I had a hard time going through, I knew she wasn’t showing up. So it was time to wash my clothes myself. I grabbed the bucket and the clothes I knew would take the longest to dry and set to work. I assumed she would come tomorrow morning, as by then the rain would’ve hopefully stopped and dried. If not, I’d be washing the quicker drying stuff myself again tomorrow morning.

I spent the rest of the night packing and looking online. Hadn’t really had a time to go on since getting back from India. I worked on my Fulbright Final Report trying to get it done and out of the way before I leave Bangladesh. My room is now empty except for a mattress I asked to keep for my last two nights. The guy who bought it would come by to get it on my last morning. As well, I had retaken the fan from the guys downstairs before the all went back for Eid. They told me to just leave it with the landlady when I moved out.

56th-4th in Dhaka 9/27

Today is my last full day in Bangladesh. I leave tomorrow morning. It feels a bit odd. Especially the array of activities I plan to do. It was really a typical day of errands for me. It could’ve been any other day during my stay.

In the morning my boua came and washed the rest of my clothes. She then took everything I had saved for her. The kitchen stuff, odds and ends I wasn’t taking home, including shoes, shirts, pants, etc. Meanwhile I packed little by little. She left with a big bag of stuff, and good sized thank you tip for her time working for me, as well as a photo I printed out of the two of us that Emily had take on her visit. (pic: my boua with all the odds and ends I gave her)




















I had breakfast at a hotel one last time. It was Ramadan and so I felt a bit scandalous, but lots of others were there too. I dropped off my mini backpack to a tailor and asked them if they could fix the few holes and tears which had developed through India. They didn’t want to, but I begged and said they cold do it, needed it done by tonight. They obliged.

After this I went to BUET to see Dr. Rahman one last time. I was dropping off a copy of the paper that had been published by us, for his records. He also took it to make a formal scan. I thanked him one last time, and was on my way.

I had taken the bus there and back and it was fitting that it was really crowded. I was hanging out the door for a bit on the way out, one last time. I got to push through everyone one last time. I even got to sit in an annoying traffic jam one last time.

I got a final haircut. Wanted to make sure I felt clean before heading to Southeast Asia. Thus it was nice to get one final complimentary head massage.
I really didn’t eat lunch apart for a few biscuits. Wasn't very hungry I guess. I sat at home in my lungi and finished the Fulbright final report. Felt good to submit it. At one point Karen came by, she was buying my speakers from me.

In the evening I gave my gifts to the store owner in front of my house and Hamid. I gave Hamid a pack of baseball cards that I had brought from the US. I think at first he was confused about them, and also asked me some questions about baseball. He liked them though, the evidence being that he showed them off to all the customers who came by afterwards. Both of them liked the frame I gave them, including the framed dollar bill. I know they’ll enjoy showing that off. They hung it on the wall immediately, and pointed it out as well to all the customers who came by.

At night all my friends came over to say goodbye. I was really glad that Tamzid dropped by as well. He said it was really good to see me one last time. We all sat in my room and talked about nothingness for awhile. They gave me one more gift. I gave Farhan the postcards I had written to mail to everyone, and I gave Ayon all the books for Samantha. When they all left, they each gave me a personal goodbye. It was a bit sad. We all were going to miss each other. (pics: Farhan at my flat on my last night, Auvi/Saquib/Nipu/Annita/Ayon at my house hanging out in my empty flat on my final night in Dhaka)
















Just as they were leaving, Toma, who had said she wasn’t able to come by because she was busy showed up. She had gone straight to my house to surprise me, but I had walked the guys to the street. She called and found me in the streets just as I was saying goodbye to my friends. She and I then went by rickshaw to get dinner. Only I ate. I went to my favorite hotel one last time. I shook the hand of the waiter who usually served me and said goodbye. She gave me a gift of three shirts from the Aziz Super market. I hadn’t had the time to go pick them up myself, and she knew I wanted some. I was impressed, all the designs were ones I really liked.

Went to bed one last time in Bangladesh.

56th-5th from Dhaka to Bangkok 9/28

Last morning. Mahib, the guy taking my mattress came by at 4:45 AM as we had planned. I had to open the gate for him. He came in, and I was exhausted. I plopped down, and he did next to me. Now remember, this is the guy who got me really upset just two days ago. Now he was acting like my best friend. We ended up talking for over one hour this morning. We chatted, even thought it was early, I wasn’t being picked up by Auvi for 3 more hours. The highlight thought was when he told me he is the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party student arm at Dhaka College. I asked that they didn’t they have a riot about a month ago that burned a bus. He said “Yeah, it was great!” I inquired if, as the head of the student group, had organized it personally. Yes he had. I asked further how he decides to have a riot, and he told me how a high up in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party calls him in the morning and tells him they want a riot to happen so X and Y get done. In this case, they wanted Khaleda Zia out of jail. So he then texts all his friends, or sees them throughout the day, and they all plan to riot at the gates at 2 PM or whatever. I was so amazed to find out hwo all tha it works! Couldn’t believe I was talking to a guy who starts riots for fun!

I dropped off the fan to my landlord but did not ask for my deposit back. Nor did I offer to pay the October rent. I feel we’re all even.

Auvi picked me up at home earlier than I thought he would. I would have plenty of time at the airport. When we got there early, we figured why not go get some breakfast. His driver and I got some biscuits and bananas and tea at a tea stall. Auvi was fasting and didn’t eat. But it was good to spend a few more moments with a good friend before I left.

When it was time, we drove back across the street to the airport. He brought me to the departures area and helped me bring my bags to the door. I hugged him goodbye and went inside, the last personal contact I had in Bangladesh with a friend. I was sad. I didn’t cry. I guess I was ready for it. I couldn’t believe it was all really happening after spending so much time here. I didn’t have the feeling of just arriving, or that time had flied, just amazed that this point had come.

My reflection was disrupted by having to deal with Best Air. It sucked. I ended up paying lots of money at the counter, much more than I anticipated. First, they didn’t “know” I could take extra bags on board, despite what the head office had claimed. I called the head office, and put them on the phone with the counter workers. Luckily it was explained that students can take 10 anextra kg. So that was in the clear. My bags were 12kg over the limit. Not so bad. But then they told me my carry-on was too big. I insisted that I carry it on every flight I go. They forced me to weigh it, and then they put it in the stupid little metal “on board possible space” bin. Was too big for both they claimed. 7kg over the carry-on limit. I was annoyed. They were now forcing me to pay for 24kg! that was a lot of money. I was very unhappy. I guess I could’ve done a lot of rearranging then and there, but didn’t think about that at the time.
On the plus side, I felt it was a testament to my Bengali that I’ve learned that I was able to fight about the weight of my bag to the counter person, and explain the situation over the phone to a representative.
While waiting for the plane, I felt I saw lots of people who had bags bigger than that one carry-on, and that looked heavier too. I steamed about this all the way to Bangkok.

There was free internet at the airport. So for all of Dhaka’s airport’s downsides, this was a major up! My friends texted and called me while I was in the airport. Ayon and Toma both called, and Farhan Nipu, Oyon, and Saquib all texted me.

The plane itself to Bangkok was rickety, and a bit scary. In fact I’d never been so nervous on a plane for as long as I can remember.
We landed in Bangkok, I was reflecting on my last trip here with Megan in February. Our plane got to the gate…but it didn’t. Apparently there was some issue that it wasn’t physically possible for us to connect to the gate. We sat there for 30 minutes. I thought we’d have to go to another gate. I didn’t understand why this problem would arise, was this their first time ever trying to go to a gate? Well after 30 minute, the plane moved forward about 3 feet, literally, and all of a sudden we were able to connect. Nothing else I could tell changed. Ridiculous.

I got my bags and found Amy at the airport. She’d been waiting all day, several hours for me to arrive. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen her. Last time would’ve been at the Knecht Cup, a regatta in Camden, New Jersey, during my junior year of college. It was so nice to see a familiar face again. I was excited for our upcoming 2.5 weeks.

We got a taxi from the taxi stand at the airport.. The driver however got lost trying to get where we needed to go. He though we’d said something different. Luckily I sort of knew my way around, and told him again where we needed to go and where I thought it was from where we were. We ended up finding it just fine after that.

Amy liked the hostel I had arranged for us to stay at, the Sukhumvit On Nut Guesthouse. It was the same one I had been to with Megan on our first night in Bangkok. The staff is friendly and helpful, it’s not too far from the airport, and really clean. After checking in, we repacked our bags for our journey starting tomorrow. I gave my two big bags to store downstairs. They’d be left under the steps for 2.5 weeks. (pic: Amy in our hostel in Bangkok repacking her bags)
















Amy and I grabbed our guidebooks and headed out to the night market I’d eaten at with Megan on our first night. We sought out some noodles and ate and planned out our trip as best we could. We knew we’d be doing a lot of this trip off the cuff, but we worked out what we thought things could go like as best we can. It’s a hard trip to plan. We decided to take a train tomorrow morning out northeast, heading to Laos. We are skipping northern Thailand as we aren’t as psyched about that as we are about other places, and we are admittedly crunched for time. We realized we’ll be spending a lot of nights on buses and trains, but we said that we could deal.

Amy gave me the things she wasn’t taking on this first leg of the trip, and I put it in my carry-on bag. In there I put my laptop. Brought it downstairs to store for the next 10 days until we come back. The manager asked me if a laptop was inside. I wasn't sure if I should say yes or not. Didn’t want to admit it. He told me if there was he’d keep it locked in my office. So I whispered back “yes.”

At night at the hostel I couldn’t fall asleep. I was thinking about the upcoming trip. But sadly also the big payment I had to shell out earlier for my bags.

56th-6th in Pak Chong 9/29

We were up early at the hostel, and off on the skytrain, then to the subway, then to the train station. There was no issue quickly booking our tickets, but we would have to sit in the Bangkok rail station for the rest of the morning. We went and got breakfast nearby, some rice and curry. I also got a pastry and some fruit for the train ride. (pic: waiting inside the Bangkok train station for a few hours)
















The train was a comfortable ride. We had chosen to stop over at Pak Chong for the day because there was no way we could reach the Thailand/Laos border today. And we figured why not take a night train this evening to get there the next morning and spend this day somewhere outside of Bangkok. So Pak Chong, 3-4 hours outside of Bangkok seemed perfect. We might even go to the national park there, Thailand’s first.
When we arrived, it was quickly evident how much of a small town it was. Streets seemed dead. We went and got lunch at a small restaurant near the station, and asked if we could leave our bags there for the day, promising we’d come back and eat dinner. We went and found the songthaews which were heading to the national park. We read that they stop running at 5 PM, so we could have 3 hours there at the park before having to come back. (pic: inside our songthaew to Khao Yai National Park)
















When we got to the park’s gate we got a different story. The trails at the park were all 7km or so from the gate. No easy way to get inside without a car. So there was nothing we could do from where we were. The gate worker also informed us that the last songthaew was the one we had came on. Whether all of this was true or not, we weren’t going to mess around. The gate worker told us we could hail a car leaving the park to take us back. She helped us do that, and we hopped in the back of a guy’s pickup truck. He and his friends were all heading home. The guy was real nice to us, and although he couldn’t take us the whole way, he helped us find a small songthaew to take us back from the farthest point he would take us. I haven’t “hitchhiked” since I was in South Africa. (pics: the view of the gate to Khao Yai National Park as we sped away in the bed of some guy's truck, Amy in the bed of the truck we hitchhiked with back to Pak Chong)
















Back in town, with not much else to do. Amy and I grabbed some dessert items. We roamed around, tried to find shops to look at. Essentially we were finding ways to waste about 4 hours or so until dinner. We roamed across the rail tracks and sat down at an open air restaurant. Took out the cards and started playing Shed. I had taught her how to play at the train station this morning. (pics: fairly empty street in Pak Chong, Amy walking through the stalls at an evening market in Pak Chong, wandering across the tracks in the town, a Wat on the top of a hill that we could see from where we sat and played cards)






























We had dinner at the same place. Our bags luckily were still there. We waited at the train station for about an hour and a half for our night train to the Laos border. Amy slept while I read. There were a lot of mosquitoes. (pic: Amy asleep on a bench while we wait for our train at the Pak Chong train station)















Boarding the train, it was freezing cold inside. It was hard to sleep with it so cold, I was only in shorts and t-shirt. I wrapped my lungi around my upper body and used the provided blanket on my legs. Either way, didn’t sleep well, and nor did Amy.

56th-7th in Vientiane 9/30

We arrived at the final city on the rail line in Thailand in the early morning. From there we could take a tuk-tuk the short distance to the Laos border crossing. We shared with another foreign couple, and overpaid for the short ride. I think I was the only one who was willing to bargain at that early hour.

The Thai side was easy. Soon after arriving the border opened and we checked through. A bus was there to take all the people across the Mekong River to Laos. There we were able to get a visa on arrival, which took time. The most exciting thing was seeing the point in the road where the bus had to switch sides. Thailand drives on the left, and Laos on the right. The roads crisscrossed itself, and had stop signs for drivers to ensure they would not hit anyone in the crossing procedure. Then it was a half hour tuk-tuk ride to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. (pic: where the switch happens at the border because Thailand drives on the left and Laos on the right)















We had asked the driver to take us to the international bus station, but after getting off, we would find out we were merely at the city bus station. It was frustrating. We asked around for how to get where we wanted to go, and it felt like we were running in circles. At this point both of us felt frantic. No one spoke English well enough to help us find how to get where we were going. Well luckily someone did, and we took a local bus to what they refer to as the Southern Bus Station. There we were able to buy our bus ticket for 2 days from now to Hue, Vietnam. For breakfast, we had French bread with a variety of mystery meats inside. Previously a French colony, the influence of the French was all over the country, including the French breads. (pic: Amy and the many French loaves available in Southeast Asia that we'd enjoy for many breakfasts)
















We then had to take another tuk-tuk across town again to the Northern Bus Station. This is the third and last bus station in town. So our morning consisted of seeing all the bus stations in Vientiane. Here we booked our ticket for the evening to go to Phonosavan, home of the Plain of Jars, our main goal in Laos. We left our bags there for the day at the insistence of the ticket seller.

Again we grabbed a tuk-tuk to the town center. Despite it being the capital and largest city in the country, it is really a medium sized town. We were excited after all the ticket buying to finally roam and see some of the exciting parts of the city. There was a nice streetscape on Vientiane’s main drag, and lots of Buddhist monks were walking this way and that. (pics: Tuk-tuks in the main street of Vientiane, Amy walking through the streets of Vientiane, the Laos President's house, a cat on the bust of a lion at a Wat(cute and fitting don't you think?))





























After some pizza for lunch we made our way to Patuxay, what is essentially Vientiane’s Arc de Triomphe. We climbed up inside and looked out over Vientiane. All the interior floors were ripe with gift-sellers. The city looked a lot bigger from the top. At the other end of what is essentially Vientiane’s Champs-Elysees, was the President’s house. (pics: myself in front of Patuxay, inside the many floors of Patuxay that are now big gift shops, Amy looking out from the top of Patuxay, looking down Lan Xang Boulevard towards the President's House and most of Vientiane)






























We then went to Wat Si Saket, the most famous Wat in Vientiane. Portions of its wooden construction for some reason really stood out to me. It started to rain a bit before, and neither of us minded sitting there a bit longer. (pics: Amy walking around Wat Si Saket, an image of the Buddha at Wat Si Saket, some of the wooden post and lintels at the temple, myself at Wat Si Saket)






























After lunch and heading to an internet café, we walked over to the river, just to see it. It was neat to be seeing one of the great rivers of the world, the Mekong. Very special to look upon it. It was flowing very fast as the monsoon season was just ending. A few weeks ago it had flooded its banks, flowing into Vientiane. The sandbags were still piled up everywhere from that time.
We had our dinner on the riverside at a “fancy” place where you sat on pillows. We were essentially hanging right over the river on a bamboo shelter. The kitchen was up by the street and they brought food down to us. (pics: sandbags remaining from when the Mekong River flooded into Vientiane during the monsoon, the small riverside restaurants we dined at, Amy at the restaurant we ate at along the Mekong River, myself at the same restauarant)






























We took a tuk-tuk back to the bus station. There we showered in the bathrooms. You had to pay the bathroom fee, but we could use the buckets in the toilet stalls to dump water on ourselves. I have to say it is the oddest shower I’ve taken, and I had some weird ones in Bangladesh. I was dumping water from the basin which holds the toilet flushing water. My belongings precariously were hanging from the bits of door frame I could hang them on. It wasn’t so bad though. We both felt really refreshed when we were done.

We got on the bus for our ride to Phonosavan. It was supposed to be around 12 hours overnight. It was a double story bus, but people only sat on top, below was all our stuff. And people had A LOT of stuff. It seemed like they had come into the city for a few days, picked up what they needed for their entire village, and were brining it back. Three hours into our trip the bus broke down. Despite it being a nicer VIP bus, the roads are pretty bad outside the capital. Two hours later two other buses came by, one full of people and with AC, and one not full and not with AC. They had everyone on the first bus fill the second, and then our passengers took the first. Our original bus was left behind. We were back on our way to Phonosavan.

Week 55: Should I take a bus, train, or camel to the Blue City?

55th-1st in Mumbai 9/17

One thing I’ve noticed in traveling India is that Indians always ask me for my email address, while Bangladeshis always ask for my phone number. Perhaps this is an effect of India seeing more tourists, and thus aware that a tourist wouldn’t likely be around long enough to chat on the phone in a few weeks. Or Bangladeshis realize quickly that by my speaking Bengali, I probably am in Bangladesh for some sort of longer stay.

Today I headed out to see the actual sights of Mumbai. I walked down to the Gate of India which I’d seen many times before in Saket’s photos. It was under construction when I arrived. Next to it was the famous Taj Hotel in Mumbai, which Saket had told me about as well. Took some photos and got hassled by a few people trying to sell me big balloons or little plastic marbles that grow if you put them in water. I bought a ticket for a boat trip to Elephanta Island, an hour out into the Mumbai Harbor. The water was rocking the boat pretty well, and I feared a bit for our safety. Although decent, not the safest looking craft. From the boat, as it went far across the water, I could see all of Mumbai stretching before me on its peninsula. It was very very long. Seemed to go on forever in high rises. It looked like NYC stretching along Manhattan Island. Couldn’t believe I was looking at one of the largest city in the world. I felt that Mumbai is the most “New York” of all the Indian cities. (pics: walking along the seawall with the Taj Hotel and Gate of India at the end, Gate of India under construction, Gate of India and Taj Hotel from the boat out to Elephanta Island, myself on the boat with the skyline of Mumbai behind)






























Elephanta Island was covered in jungle. The national park is established there because of the rock cut temples, which are famous in this region. These are the most accessible from Mumbai. The boat ride provides a complimentary tour guide, but when you arrive touts still try to convince you to come with them.
The temples were cut directly into the cliffs stretching in about 50 yards. The carvings of the gods large and detailed. They weren’t weathered as they are sheltered, but some have had vandalism from when the area wasn’t protected. Glad to have a tour guide for a bit who could tell us about all the carvings. Further on the path from this temple are a few more temples, but only this main temple was ever completed, and thus requires the most time. Monkeys were roaming everywhere, but not excessively playful. I didn’t fear they would steal anything. (pics: the main temple on Elephanta Island and the only fully completed one, myself inside the first temple, myself standing amongst the temple's columns, one of the many sculpted rock images of the Gods)






























After the last temple was a sign telling you to walk up to Cannon Hill. The climb took about 8 minutes, but at the top one could look out over the island to the harbor, from an World War 2 era huge cannon,. A second and third cannon were around the other side of the hill, and from there you could see the Port of Mumbai nestled amongst the islands. Really cool. On the way down I had lunch at a “tourist trap” restaurant, one of the many places lining the stairs up to the temples. (pics: the last temple that one sees on Elephanta Island, the World War 2 era cannon on the top of Cannon Hill)
















To sit upstairs on the boat for the ride back you have to pay Rs 10, wasn’t the case on the way out. I refused. It was worth it only one on the way out, when it was free. Sat downstairs.

I headed over to Chowpatty Beach on the western side of the peninsula. There you can watch the sunset over Malabar Hill, a richer area of Mumbai, and see the Queen’s Necklace (the name given to Marine Drive’s string of streetlights lining the highway going along the western part of Mumbai.) Tons of people strolling or hanging out on the sea walls. Water looks disgusting below, some people mining for garbage along the rocks. One guy sleeping. I sat at the sandy beach area for a bit and watched little kids “ride” the four wheelers or little motorbikes, actually getting pushed by a paid hand. People were hanging out eating snacks. Sunset was pretty, and after I got some “lunch/dinner” at a beachside stall, which gave me some rolls and tomato sauce with paneer. The Queen’s Necklace really was gorgeous lit up at night. (pics: man asleep on the edge of the sea wall's wave breakers, Chowpatty Beach a bit before sunset, child being pushed around on an electric 4 wheeler that doesn't work by a beach worker, Queen's Necklace and pedestrians at night)






























Back at the hotel, Uri and went out and got dinner, roaming the streets again. We ended up getting an omelet on the street. Afterwards, we went to a juice stall, and I tried out carrot juice…eh.

55th-2nd on bus to Udaipur 9/18

I woke up, had breakfast in the room and headed out to the train station to take the suburban train to the bus stop. This was my first time really booking a bus outside of Bangladesh or Nepal. In those places, the bus ticket we got gave us assigned seats. This one did not, I was worried.
Walking to the train I got sweaty carrying my bag. Didn’t take a taxi or a bus, should’ve. Arrived at the bus counter, and waited for a bus with the guy who sold me a ticket. Where was the bus? It was coming he said. Just a tad late. Finally it arrived and they determined where I’d sit, my “assigned seat.” I had asked to be by a window, but I was given an aisle seat. Little did I know this was a blessing.
This bus had sleeper bunks for people, but I had one of the twelve seats in back, which were nestled underneath some bunks. The people above us got sick from the bus jolting, and vomited out the window. Luckily most people closed their windows in time when they saw the vomit coming, but if I had been there I doubt I would’ve seen, so luckily I was on the aisle.
The bathroom was horrible. I wished it wasn’t even installed on the bus. It smelled, and sitting near the back, it was really bad. Every time someone opened the door to go in, the stench crept out. I finally went back at some point to pee, and I saw why it was so bad. For all I could tell, there was no outlet for the pee to be dispensed. You just seemed to pee on the floor, it was not clear whether there was a small hole for it to go out. Felt like I was standing in a pool of urine. I used it anyway, and got out and disgustedly walked back to my seat. The man next to me did not smell to great either, so I was trapped between that smell and the bathroom smell.

Still, the ride was pretty, mountains were green and lush. We drove out of the city for two hours before the high-rises disappeared. Really cool to see all Mumbai stretch on forever. (pics: northern parts of Mumbai, tall apartment buildings still can be seen two hours outside of the city center)
















At a toll plaza, there was a bunch of cows blocking a toll lane.

Somewhere north of Mumbai, for a 2 mile stretch, our bus decided to drive on the other side of the divided highway. We had crossed the road to use a gas station, but it was out of gas. So because there was no convenient way to cross back through the concrete barrier, our bus drove down the opposite side. It was horrifying. I covered my eyes. Cars and trucks honked at us as they flew by in the other direction. No one expected us to be there. And we didn’t do it slow either, we were cruising. All other vehicles had to swerve quickly into the other lane of their two-land southbound highway. Finally there was a gap in the concrete barrier and we crossed back over to our side.

It started raining at times, and we had to close the windows, that did not help the smell one bit. A lot of the rain was dripping inside, splattering on those at the window seats, another good reason I had the aisle. Then the water coming inside started gathering and pooling throughout the bus. It was then that I picked up by small backpack and kept it on my lap the rest of the time. I’m glad my other bag is a dry bag.

We stopped for “dinner” and a bathroom break. I didn’t want to eat a real dinner as I was afraid of upsetting my stomach. Instead I got some biscuits and chips, and a bit more water. It was pouring, and everyone had to walk through muddy water to get to/from the bus. So inside the bus it became similar. But this did not stop the fifteen men who would board the bus at this stop to sit in the aisle! Now, despite all the water pooling, the smells, and the closed windows, we had fifteen guys sitting/sleeping in the aisle. For those near the front, it made it impossible to go to the back bathroom, perhaps a good thing. (pic: fifteen men who boarded the bus in the evening and spent the night in the aisle)
















We are traveling on the new Indian superhighway system. But it’s still under construction at points, especially in places they are building flyovers. What our bus decided to do in one situation where traffic was horrendous, somewhere outside of Ahmedabad, was too try out the back roads of Gujarat. This wasn’t very successful at all. These double decker buses were not suited for those small lanes. In the rain, it was just an utter disaster. At some point our driver realized his shortcut idea had not worked. We had to make many U-Turns just to get out of it all, and it wasted about 1 hour of our time. I really can’t tell where we went, it was so dark. Somehow we got back to the highway, and then again, sat in the same traffic.

I slept with my backpack on my chest. In the middle of the night, as I wasn’t really ever fully sleeping, I saw a man suiting in the aisle drinking a bottle of water…my water! In my worst Hindi possible I told him that was my bottle…luckily he understood my fake Hindi (I was tired, I probably just spoke Bengali.) He put it down, but it was still ¼ empty.

55th-3rd in Udaipur 9/19

We arrived several hours later than we were supposed to thanks to our nighttime turnaround, and the rain. By the time the sun was up, we were in Rajasthan, and there was desert all around. The road was emptier here, and rolled through the hills gently.

One funny thing I saw was a man collecting the flowers off of the bushes in the middle of the highway. I assume he has called “dibbs” on those from the highway authority. (pic: man stealing the flowers on the bushes in the highway median barrier)
















Arriving in Udaipur, I got off the bus and booked my ticket for that night to go to Jodhpur. That done, I got a hotel room for the day to shower and leave my things.
I started walking towards the city, ignoring the catcalls of the passing by autorickshaws. It was two kilometers into the city, not too bad for a walk. The streets got narrower as I got closer in. Alleys began shooting off here and there. (pic: alley in Udaipur shooting off from the main street)
















I was looking to get inside the City Palace, but first take a ride on the lake in a boat. But the lake was very low, and someone I asked said it would not be possible to ride out unless I was going to the hotel in the middle.
I sat on the side of the lake in a worn out stone pagoda; I waved hello to the other guys hanging out in a pagoda nearby. I sat and read Angels and Demons. Soon two high school students were using my pagoda as well to have a post-school cigarette. They asked me not to tell their parents, I promised I wouldn’t. We chatted about their school and my travels. They left and soon it started to rain. I stayed underneath avoiding where the rain was coming in. It created a neat haze over the lake. (pics: Lake Palace in the middle of Udaipur's lake, myself reading in my pagoda with the Lake Palace in the background, two high school boys who used the pagoda I was in as an afterschool smoking spot, it started to rain and all the men in the pagoda next to me were huddled underneath)






























I had lunch at a rooftop restaurant, and I picked a good one because it seemed to be the highest around. Could see the whole lake and nearby hills, some with palaces on top. Lunch was incredibly good; I wolfed down the curries they gave me. (pics: Udaipur and the hills beyond (some with palaces on top), the two palaces on the lake in Udaipur)
















I had not realized the City Palace was going to close so soon and had to rush from lunch to even guarantee myself an hour inside. It is one of the largest palaces in India, and I didn’t want to miss it. I hired a tour guide as I felt I would not be able to appreciate the place as much without knowing its history. He was worth it. He explained stories of the royal family and how it related to the palace. We made it through the tour without staying too late. One of the kings who used to live there was paralyzed, so a lot of artifacts are from his era, with toilets and chairs built especially for him. It was neat to see pictures of the current maharaja’s family. (pic: myself in front of Udaipur's City Palace)
















At sunset, I headed down to the lake to watch. The colors of the city as it set were glowing. Many others, locals and tourists, were there watching it too. Stayed until the Lake Palace lights came on, and then walked back into town. (pics: street heading down to the waterside at sunset, palaces on the lakes at sunset, sunset over Udaipur, Lake Palace lit up at night)






























I stopped at a Hindu temple which was alive with noise from prayer, and was lit up. Sat and watched the activities. (pics: Hindu temple lit up at night from the street level, just outside the Hindu Temple's main entrance as it was lit up)





















I walked back to the hotel, showered again. Got some snacks for the next bus. Got on the bus with no issues, and had a decent seat. Actually slept. Much better than the last ride.

55th-4th in Jodhpur 9/20

At some point at night we made a 15 minute stop for food. All I remember is that there was a music program on TV with a mustachioed cartoonish looking singer and his dancing girlfriend. They were acting out some drama. The song never ended, it had started before we arrived and was still going strong when I left. I can still picture the video weeks later.

I arrived very early in the morning, around 4:30am. The hotel owner had warned me not to let someone scam me when I arrived, apparent it’s really bad in Jodhpur. I found a taxi and told him to take me to the hotel, and prayed it would be the right one. Luckily, there was no silly business, and I arrived just fine. The owner came out to greet me. I showered, and went back to bed for a few hours.

After waking up, I went around and bought some soap I needed and detergent. I washed my clothes in the bathroom, and then prepared for my day.

My goal for the day was Mehrangarh Fort atop the hill, anything after that would just be a bonus. I climbed up through the city streets approaching the fort. They got very steep. The blue of the city was already apparent. I had been looking forward to seeing this a long time. I presented on cities of color in my junior year of college. As I climbed up the mountain, I kept looking back at the streets bustling below me, because I could see more and more of the city. (pics: narrow streets leading up to the fort, at times the fort was visible from the streets of the Blue City below)
















I reached the entrance to the fort and went to pick up my ticket and the complimentary audio tour, which the guide books say is great. But they told me I needed a Rs2000 deposit to reserve one, or my license or passport. I had none of those. I was upset because I had just climbed all the way up. After a few minutes of begging they finally conceded to give me one for Rs1000 deposit. Kind of them.
The palace was beautiful, and the audio tour did help explain what I was looking at. I, however, liked the views of Jodhpur much more, and to finally see the blue color which gives the city its fame. I ate lunch there, and the food was actually decently priced. (pics: exterior of Mehrangarh Fort up close, myself in one of the many courtyards in the palace, the exterior of the fort was ornately carved, one of the many royal meeting rooms in the palace, the linealogy of the kings who have ruled in Jodhpur, the wide exterior wall that is walkable around most of the palace)

















































I sat on the edge of the fort and read my book, and took lots of photos looking out over the city below. (pics: the Blue City stretches out from the palace in all directions, myself looking out over the side of the fort's wall, looking directly on the network of streets below, myself and the Blue City)






























After leaving the fort, I meandered the city streets aimlessly, just trying to see what I’d see. While on my walk, lots of kids came up to me to say “Hello”. (pics: man riding through the streets of Jodhpur with propane tanks strapped to his bike, one of many blue streets in Jodhpur)

















I came upon a temple built atop a rock spire. I had seen it from the distance, and had wondered what it was. Some guys saw me looking at it, and asked if I wanted to go up. Of course I would. So two of them brought me to it, unlocked the gate, and we climbed up. The view over the city and towards the fort was nice, but they ruined it by asking for a donation of Rs 500, a ridiculous amount. At first I pretended I didn’t hear them, but they asked again a few minutes later, and this time I told them they were ridiculous. They really wanted US money, but I had none of that either. So beyond my Indian rupees I had only my Bangladeshi Taka. That didn’t suffice for them. I climbed down, and at the bottom they asked again for the money. I said sure I’ll give Rs10 and I’ll put it in the donation box. Nope they wanted it in their hands. I refused, and put in the box. This angered them and they went and locked the gate, saying they wouldn’t open it until I gave them more money. Fine I said, I’ll stay in here all day, I have nothing else to do. I finally raised my voice and yelled how they can’t expect Rs 500 from me for something they offered to do. When they realized I wasn’t budging, they settled that I should give them my Bangladeshi Taka. Sure I said, and handed them over the Tk5 and Tk1 coins I had. I don’t think they knew how little those were worth. (pics: temple on top of a rock spire, writing on the rock "Jai baba ri" spire midway up and the city in the back ground, the view from the top of the ladder to Jodhpur's fort, the two guys who insisted I pay them Rs 500 for seeing the temple on the rock spire's ladder)
















































I found the city gate and climbed onto the city wall. One guy said I couldn’t go up there, another insisted I could. I listened to second guy. I roamed some more and came upon the central square with the clocktower. I found a spice shop and was called in by the owner. Although I wasn’t going to buy anything, I sat down to talk anyway. I think they realized I wasn’t buying. I stayed for about an hour, and ended up talking politics. (pics: one of the city gates in the city wall, the fort seen from the top of the city wall, the clocktower in the middle of Jodhpur's Blue City)






























I went to dinner at some hotel, and the hotel owner told me he had just opened the place. I asked why there were so many pictures of himself on the wall, and he said he just wrapped up his career as a model, and those were his many photos shoots. He had a big bushy mustache and looked like a stereotypical old Bollywood good guy actor. He did not lack in pride. Bad part of the restaurant was sitting down and two other guys leaving telling me “the pasta is not good” just after I’d ordered. (pic: view over a part of Jodhpur towards the fort from where I ate dinner in the evening)
















55th-5th on train to Bikaner 9/21

Although I would’ve liked to have a night train to Bikaner, it just wasn’t possible. So I had booked a day train from Jodhpur to get me in to Bikaner by the afternoon. My camel safari was the next day, and I could use today to relax.

I got on the train and no one was on it. Everyone had seemed to get off at Jodhpur, despite the train continuing on another 6 hours. I sat down and had a whole compartment to myself.
The desert passing by was pretty incredible. It was the least dense I’d seen in India. On the train I finished Angels and Demons (pics: myself in the empty train cabin, the Rajasthan desert as our train drove past, our train passing through the desert, a little boy selling ice cream on an empty desert road)






























Apparently on my train as well was the winner of a recent Indian Idol-like contest. He is from Bikaner. When we arrived, a huge crowd was waiting for him, and put garlands around his neck. They carried him on their shoulders and brought him to a waiting car. Huge crowds cheered him, and TV crews filmed his arrival. They drove off in song. That night on TV I saw the footage from his arrival. (pics: Bikaner welcoming home their superstar at the train station, footage on TV that evening)

















Arriving at the guesthouse, I was welcomed by the Camel Man’s wife. She was very friendly, but was the deliverer of bad news that no one had signed up for my tour except me, meaning I have to pay an extra Rs 400 to go, to cover costs. I was upset that I would be alone, and that I’d have to pay money for that, but decided to go anyway, as I’d never have a chance at this again.

To use the internet at a store nearby, I had to give my passport. They said it is because they are worried about terrorists, due to recent terrorist attacks in India, and they are doing this region wide to curb terrorist activities.

55th-6th in Bikaner 9/22

Today was the camel ride and although I’d be going alone, I was very excited for it. After a breakfast where I even got to have pomegranate, I headed out by jeep to the camels. My guide was there, and he would be with me all day. He spoke limited English, so it ended up being quite quiet. But that was okay.

The desert itself was very quiet, not even any wind. I was surprised at the lack of noise. The silence at times was really deafening, I could hear it ringing in my ears. I realized that I should have worn long pants on the camel, as I got several ticks while riding on it and had to flick those off. We walked quietly through the desert. Stopped so the camel and the guide could get more water. Saw a peacock in a tree. (pics: my typical view from the top of the camel, myself on my camel during the tour, shadown of myself and the camel, camels grazing on the side of the path)






























For lunch my guesthouse had prepared a lunch and put it in a metal stacked lunchbox, the typical system of South Asia, and my first time eating with one. It was tasty, but I surely couldn’t eat it all. My guide gave me some of his lunch, which was spicy lady’s fingers, but wasn’t as spicy as he claimed. We sat there under a tree in the heat of the day resting. Drank lots of water. We were quite a way away from the camel which he had let roam and eat, with a rope around its front legs so it can’t walk fast or far. Some cow herder came by and sat with us for awhile and chatted with my guide, not sure if they knew each other.
We napped there under the tree. I only realize now that he could’ve left me there napping in the middle of the desert.

When we awoke, he went off to get our camel. All of a sudden I see him running far far away. After a minute or so I realize he can’t find it. I see him going out into the distance, but I don’t see a thing. He’s looking back and forth. Uh oh. I went and helped look in the other direction, but didn’t see a thing. Finally I see him following a pack of camels, pelting one, ours, with stones. I could tell he was cursing at it, or at least I would be. Finally after he managed to get our camel away from the pack, he grabbed it by its rope and brought it back. He told me that the camel had found “some camel friends” and went to hang out. He seemed humorous but still pissed. Doesn’t happen every time he said. (pics: my guide (in the red circle) running off into the distance to find the camel, my guide and the camel after he recaptured it)
















Overall I felt the camel walked slower than I thought it would. It was quite hot all day long, and in the silence I had lots of time to think. A storm approached later, and the wind picked up. Luckily it never rained.

I showered in the guesthouse’s owner’s shower, and waited until it was time to leave for the train. Talked to the wife again, she wanted me to buy dinner but I was out of money. At the train station I sought out some snacks on the nearby main road, and waited. Some young boy came to talk to me, about high school age. He spoke to me in Hindi and I did my best to understand. We looked at the train list and he pointed out there were other foreigners on the train. Low and behold, I was sharing a cabin with them. They were a group of Spaniards, and we talked for about an hour before finally settling into our bunks. I was off to my last stop of Jaipur

55th-7th in Jaipur 9/23

The train arrived at about 6 AM. We got off and us foreigners were hassled nonstop about hotels. I started walking out of the station area and into the city to find a hotel. Meanwhile the touts from the platform followed me. One tout asked where I come from, and I said Bangladesh. Doubting me, he said he was also from Bangladesh. But his demeanor changed when I believed him and excitedly in Bengali asked him from which district. We instantly started talking about Bangladesh, alienating all the Hindi speakers also trailing us. Because he was Bangladeshi, I felt a connection with him, and said I would go to the hotel he wanted to take me to (after bargaining about the price of course.)
The hotel was decent, and I really think that the touts aren’t always trying to scam you, just trying to get hotels not in guidebooks to have a tourist actually show up.

I had a train to catch to Delhi in the evening. I would arrive there, take a taxi to the airport, spend the night there for a few hours, and fly out early back to Kolkata.

After going out and unsuccessfully finding currency exchange, I ate breakfast and checked my email. Got some bad news, my flight from Delhi to Kolkata at 5 AM tomorrow on Indigo Airlines was cancelled, and they had put me on the evening flight. Didn’t know what to do. I would miss my bus back to Bangladesh in Kolkata by several hours!

I was very nervous that I may not get a ticket on another flight, but I decided my best option would be to buy a new ticket on another budget airline when I arrived at Delhi airport at night. I would have to deal with having to buying a second ticket and losing money. With that goal, I set out to exchange some money again and go see the city. This was not a good situation.

In my walk, I passed by all the airline booking offices. I saw the IndiGo one, so I went in and asked if my flight could be refunded because I can’t take it. The guy said they don’t handle Indigo anymore, just hadn’t taken the sign down yet. Oy vey. He refused to help or answer my questions.
Frustrated, I went downstairs to exchange, and the exchange guy informed me that he also sells plane tickets. I asked if he could help and he set to work trying to solve my situation. He called IndiGo for me, and found out I can be refunded because they caused the issue. Together we canceled it, and looked for a replacement flight which he could help book. We found a flight on JetLite, but he needed both my passport and cash to get it. I had neither on me as I had not intended to be doing this so quickly.
It took me 30 minutes to go back to my hotel, get these, and come back. He told me where I could find an ATM, but when I looked it wasn’t there. He sent his friend with me, and we found it. But it wouldn’t take my card. Had to find another. It worked. We went back to buy the ticket. He went to the website, and uh oh, the price had gone up 30% in those 40 minutes. I was stunned. I had had this all figured out, and was not going to lose any money on it all, and now in those 40 min since we had seen the ticket, the price had gone up. I was upset. Berated myself for not just buying the ticket online when I had gone back to my hotel. I had come back to him to buy because he’d been so nice before. I had to go out and get more money. But now that ATM was out of cash. Searched for another and it took two tries before I found one that took my card.
Now we tried booking with the more expensive price, but it didn’t work. JetLite was not functioning online.
We decided a change in plan was necessary. We scrapped the idea of going back to Delhi, and looked into direct flights from Jaipur to Kolkata. There was one the next morning for not too much more money. We went with it. We bought it. I would be missing my 10 AM bus in Kolkata, and would have to try and get a new ticket on the last bus of the day at 1 PM over the phone. As well I’d have to cancel my train ticket to Delhi or be out 700 rupees.
I was angry. My last day in India and all my plans had toppled horribly. In hindsight, I should not have gone back to his office, and just bought the ticket online. It could’ve been so much easier.

I grabbed an autorickshaw and went to go cancel the train ticket. My ticket said I had to arrive 4 hours beforehand to cancel, and I was going to make it by a few minutes. There was a roadblock for construction, so I had to get out and walk the rest of the way. Now I’d be late. At the station, they told me something different. I could only cancel after 4pm, and it was only 2 PM. Had to wait. It seemed I would never actually get to see Jaipur now. I tried one more option, the foreign tourist desk, but they only directed me back to the place that told me 4 o’ clock. In the meantime, I called the bus company in Kolkata and asked them change my ticket to the 1 PM bus for tomorrow. Whether they understood me or not I didn’t know. It was a big question mark. I would find out tomorrow for sure if they’d understood who I really was and if they’d changed it.
This whole time at the train station I was hassled by autorickshaw and taxi drivers. Frustrated, at 3:30 I went back to cancel the train ticket, and this time they let me. Different guy at the desk. Got 75% of my ticket price back.

Now with the headaches over, I was ready to finally see Jaipur. Having limited time, I made a goal to just see Jantar Mantar, ancient observatory in Jaipur. Thought it was completely unique to the city. Guide book said it looked like you were in Alice in Wonderland. The authors were right.
This observatory is from the Mughal period, built in the 1700s. It has the largest sundial in the world. It was incredible how big the place was, and the size of the equipment too. I was blown away. The work they performed there involved such complex calculations and measurements of the heavens. Really made me appreciate what was possible with trigonometry and a strong grasp of math. Oh, and an a strong love of astrology.
I had a guide give me the 30 minute tour. I couldn’t imagine seeing the place without it. Nothing would make sense. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the whole place, and was able to explain the tough concepts, and answer my detailed questions. Many times I had him repeat his explanations so I could understand.
Apparently I also had come to Jantar Mantar on the autumn solstice. What that meant is that some of the equipment, which act differently on the solstice, were doing as such. One piece of equipment is oriented in such a way that amongst other information it tells the angle of the sun, but today both sides were in shadow because the sun is between the two hemispheres. 363 days a year the equipment can be used, but today, the dual sided instrument was completely in shadow, the sun’s rays perfectly missing it. I felt pretty lucky to come here on this rare day. I felt my friend Saket should come here, he would love it. (pics: one of the many astronomical devices at Jaipur's Jantar Mantar, myself in front of the largest sundial in the world, Jantar Mantar's many astronoical devices look like a fantasy land, this one did not work on the day I was there as the sun does not shine on either side during the solstice...the day I went)






























I was hoping to catch good views of Jaipur, famous for being the Pink City (Also from my junior year of college report) but there was no place to really see it like there was in Jodhpur. I tried a nice rooftop restaurant for a good view, and to treat myself to a late lunch. No views, you could tell it was pink, but couldn’t appreciate it. I also couldn’t decide between the Mughlai biryani and the pizza, so I got both. (pics: after the stressful I treated myself to a good meal, the Pink City of Jaipur...but I could not find a good place to view pink color at its best)
















I rode a local bus back to my part of town. It was difficult riding because I couldn’t speak Hindi to the conductor. Stuffed from the late lunch, I ate only a small dinner. Before going to bed I arranged for an autorickshaw to come pick me up in the morning.