Excerpts from the journal of a restless traveller
“the joy of travelling is not having a destination to arrive to”
4th of November to the 23rd of November 2005
These have been the most memorable and amazing experiences of my life.
There are just too many memories, places, experiences and people I have met to write about it. It is just too overwhelming. It is a task that I do not think I can undertake.
But what I will attempt to do is give you a snapshot of a few highlights and memories of my tour.
For further information and travelling advice and tips please do not hesitate to contact me on
murtazais@gmail.comTotal duration: 18 days
Total states visited: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi
I can't show the cost break down by city but the total cost (includes extra shopping of pants, shirt, and shoes.) was 7315 INR
Average spend per day 400/- INR
SL rate for 1 INR was approx 2.4
The planning stageArun back at Leo had mentioned camel safari and Rajasthan. For some reason the place stuck in my head although I did not know too much about it prior to actually visiting the place. The other option that I explored was Jammu and Kashmir. The thought of seeing snow for the very first time and trekking in the mountains was very exciting.
When was I checked the internet to book my train tickets (which were an amazing breeze), I realised that I was running out of time for making my decision. The ticket was booked o the 18th of October. There were just a few seats left! If I had waited another day, I wouldn’t have got a seat at all and would have got delayed. Up until the last moment I was undecided about where to go. Kashmir had a tourist infor office at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai, but they were not of any real valuable help. Only gave me a book of packages. Also the tour places I called up were not flexible enough to provide me with what I wanted i.e. a hiking route for a lone traveller through Kashmir. Also what swayed me towards Rajasthan was an absolutely amazing website with all the information I could want. Even better than that was a chat room on 24 hours call to answer queries and give advice. That just about sold me on the state.
Having made the decision, I decided on the places that I wanted to touch base at. I skipped Mount Abu because it sounded very touristy. The Lonely Planet….my bible also played a big role here. I knew that I had to finish up on the 21st to Delhi so I worked backwards. I also knew that I would want to spend the most amount of time in Jaiselmer if I could find myself on a Camel. If not, I would explore elsewhere.
I was also advised to go to the Taj Mahal as I would be so close to it. I did not intend to try and go there, because I was told that it had become extremely touristy and commercialised, but since I was in the vicinity, I thought I’d do it anyway. I was also told to stop by at Ahmedabad and do Zayarat (pilgrimage) as it was on the way and make the most of that opportunity.
I did not worry at all about places to stay. Prior to departure, I had gone to a travel Agent in Mumbai representing the Rajasthan tourist office (as the building the office was at in fort had collapsed) – Tanishq Travels and Tours. They had helped my by giving me a list of RTDC hotels and the places that would have dorms which would cost around 50/-
I had decided to be as free wheeling as possible. Sleep on the buses (travelling in the night) as much as possible.
In preparing what to take, I had my hiking bag (gotten from House of Fashion for SLR 1200/-), my pouch, and a sling bag.
In the Haversack...
- I put in (with a bit of hesitation) Paren and Sayo – for use in Ahmedabad.
- An extra (long sleeved) shirt I put in at the last moment – which were all the clothes I had apart from my black longs and shirt.
- Cap and sunny’s.
- Jacket, blanket and thick woolly socks.
- Water bottle,
- In the side pockets, medicine (Vitamin C, a couple of panadols, a couple of tablets for shitting, plasters). Vicks Balm, Samahan tooth brush, Wintogeno, Rubber bands, a small bottle of liquid soap, a couple of shampoo sachets, a couple of sachets of liquid soap for washing clothes (which were never used) and my phone charger.
- I had taken with me 6 film rolls (bought 3 more on the way)
- A few very small disposable hankies, toilet paper that I had unrolled to save space, a couple of underwear and a very small towel.
In the belt pouch I had my journal, wallet, sunny’s and my survival kit.
In the sling bag had the lonely planet and camera. Had the passport too.
My money was divided thus:
- 3 thousand in cash (of which 1000 was in the haversack)
- 1 TC in the sling bag
- 1 TC in the haversack
Health
I was never seriously ill except for a cold that accompanied me most of the way and head aches if I did not eat. A thorn (as strong as an iron went in right thru my nail in Jodhpur). I had a bit of nose bleed. It was kinda bad when I reached Delhi in the night; I guess it had to do with the cold.
I used to apply balm on my chest and nose, Wintogeno in my back and feet and knees almost every night. I also tried to take a Vitamin C tablet everyday in the morning.
The Train JourneyI had boarded at about 10.30 pm. On the 4th of November. The only thing to do was get comfortable on my berth and sleep through the night. The best berth to sleep on is the upper. They had my name printed out and stuck on the train near the entrance. That seemed so cool. Tip. Always keep your bag close to with the zip facing inward and keep it on the opposite side of the corridor. This is so that people who try to steal it would have a harder (though not impossible) task of stealing it.
It is fascinating watching everyone and the world waking up. What woke me and most other up was the incessant calling of the Chai walla’s and the other food vendors. The food was amazing, but a bit monotonous after a while. Nothing substantial, but still better than our local Wadai’s. They also have people selling 1/- water sachets, Poun bhaji, singh, etc. Even basic fried dhal is never sold plain. They always add masala. They also have masala tea. It is very interesting chatting with people, and I learned that they become more interested to know that you are a foreigner, but can still converse in Hindi. But this area is Gujarat, so most of the people were speaking Gujrati. Such a powerful feeling to know that you can understand (roughly) what they are saying.
The kids here eat Badaam (almonds) like most other kids would eat toffees. No wonder they are so strong. It’s meant to be brain food.
As the day progressed, the train get more and more crowded. I got the perfect seat at the emergency exit; cuz the window doesn’t have metal grills. The only problem is that people getting in and out use this as a short cut to get themselves and their luggage in. The crowd became so bad that every seat that would normally seat 1 person seated 2. Berths are given up during the day. So my berth seat was not mine during the day. What smart people did was to climb up there and stretch out. Then they go to sleep or at least pretend to, so that they can keep the entire seat to themselves.
Tip: watch out for Hijra’s. They can be annoying if they pick on you…but otherwise quite entertaining. The 1st impression I had and one which never left was how huge the land looked and even felt.
Tip: Never take a tempo (tri-shaw) from a train or bus station. They charge pretty close to almost double.
Night 1 was spent lying down on a mattress with about 30 others in a big hall. I had 3 meals and quite a good time there.
Ahmedabad:
This city is split into 2 by the river. The old city is one side, with the new on the other.
There is quite a lot to see and I think I made the right decision in hiring a tempo to take me around.
Had a hair cut here, because lengthy hair is a no no while travelling. It was at this time and this very city in which Sri Lanka were playing their cricket match and loosing the series very badly. I’ve always had amazing and interesting conversations with the locals. What was very interesting was that with my hair cut I also get a face wash and massage with moisturiser to complete it. Temperature becomes chilly the moment the sun sets. It’s a bit like Kandy now. But can manage without the jacket.
The next day went on my tour. Began at 8.00 and completed at about 3 with a very late lunch. The guy probably never expected me to spend so much time at each location. There was quite a lot packed in. 9 religious sites and about 16 other interest sites. I made sure that I knew where we were going and kept checking with him and ticking them off to ensure we went every where. Again lonely planet to the rescue. If not, he would have mumbled out a number of locations and taken me to only a handful of places.
Along the way he also took me to the bus stand to get a ticket to Udaipur. I got a ticket straight from the RTDC stand instead of a travel agent. This left me with the impression that the public busses are cheaper. This was not really the case all over. But I used the public buses most of time because they were more responsible, on time and probably trustable.
The tour cost me 400/-
Unfortunately my first bus experience was an awful one. I had bought the 11.00 night ticket… or so I thought. I made myself nicely comfortable in the seat and then someone comes and says that the seat is there’s. The office tells me that I have got a ticket for 11 am, instead of pm. The fools. This is also the last bus. After a bit of letting off steam, the conductor tells me to get on anyway. I won’t get a seat, but at least I’ll get to Udaipur. So I’m at the back of the bus and I make myself pretty comfortable on the floor. There’s a narrow space in the aisle that I lie down on. After a bit of time, something extremely solid makes a loud bang as it hits something. I realise that the something is my head. After that realisation, the pain hits me and I am shaken and quite stirred for a while wondering what the hell just happened to me. A metal container fell from the luggage rack onto my head. The lady who owned it was very sorry and even offered to malish (massage) my head. She had a couple of kids. Noisy. Before I could lie down in my narrow space, she put one of the kids down there. So I had no choice but to squeeze myself with the kid. Squashing the poor fellow in the process.
Udaipur
Landed at 4.30 am. Was freezing. Like Hatton in the morning. Found out that I really didn’t have to book the bus in advance. In all my travelling, coming a couple of hours early to the stand was quite good enough.
Used what I thought was a popular landmark and began walking towards it. I learned that for someone who does not have a problem walking (like me – because, I would walk an average of about 10 km a day) the distances were not all that far. Even for a place that people say is at the other end of the town, it is walkable. You only have to make the decision of whether or not you can afford to spend the energy to walk all the way there.
I tried to time my travels so that I reach every city at about this time in the morning. Then I always made it a point to get to the highest location and catch the sunrises. They were absolutely always amazing and worth it and something I recommend every traveller to try and do.
What was amazing about this place was that more than the typical locations such as the City Palace, the Baag, Moti Magri to which everyone’s goes (I did too), it was more amazing to walk the side streets. I walked along each and every street I could find. It was amazing because they were narrow. Tiny. Wide enough for 2 bicycles at the most. The walls all had colourful paintings. There was Rangoli on a lot of the doors. I followed the newspaper man and the milk man as they did their rounds. Eventually I found my way down to Lake Pichola. Here the locals come and bathe themselves, their utensils and their clothes. Feed the pigeons; get ready for work or school. It was wonderful witnessing all this. In the morning after breakfast I was at a loss as to what to do next. Should I go sight seeing or find a place to stay? Found myself in a bhora district and on a whim asked a bhori if there was a mosque close by. Not knowing what I would do if there was one close by or even if I would go there. He said that there was a musafar khana that I could go to and there I would even find a place to stay and eat. After getting directions to that place I went sight seeing.
My load seemed so much more lighter every time I made a plan. Usually the plan was only as long term as the night. But it still made the day seem much better having a plan. I would go to Moti Magri…a hill a bit of a distance away and tire myself out if I have to….because I knew that I had a comfortable place to stay. I also would have a fall back option in case of an emergency which was to find the RTDC hotel. But I found out later that these places were quite expensive and hardly ever had dorms.
The other amazing thing that I did was to find a really amazing place to watch the sunset. I have become such a fan of these. Then after this I went for a cultural evening. Experienced dance and music that I have never before. It was so wonderful, I cannot describe it in words.
I realised what a huge advantage I have. I let people assume I am Indian. This gets me into places other people cannot. But more importantly gets me at a cheaper price. Sometimes the difference I save is enormous.
Learning the story about a historical artefact or location makes the object come alive. So I learnt to follow guides. If there is a tour group ahead of me, sometimes I become part of that group (never staying with the same group for long). I usually have my note book out and follow them around. Get amazing tips and save a hell of a lot of money.
There are two ways of viewing these buildings. Either you can just immerse yourself in them and guess what everything means or you can search for the story. I think both are cool. The story brings things to life.
Another thing I learned is that having the camera out can be a disadvantage at times. But a camera and a notebook is a super cool thing. People think you’re a reporter or what better is that people think you’re a student. Sometimes I went around pretending to be an art student.
I feel so sorry for the donkeys I see. They are usually slave driven doing hard work. On road construction for example they are seen carrying heavy loads of rocks. They are the typical Eeyore. Head down seemingly taking all the punishment people give them. The height of their servitude must be the way they are coloured i
.jpg)