TWA / Taking on the Taj

location: jaipur, atithi guest house internet room
first, a hand with this
blue : what im up to
red: boring monologue written solely for my own benefit
Hey, sorry Im late.. Am in Jaipur at the moment, and (I write this gripping the wood on the desk) everythings been going right to plan.. To catch you up to speed, since I last wrote, we have ferried back to mainland tanzania, camped out in the serengeti national park (and for that matter on the edge of the ngorogoro crater), crossed the border into kenya, and spent the last few nights on africa time in Nairobi, before catching a connecting flight through addis ababa to Delhi. Since then we have stayed with a friend of a friend, a connection through lou, an ever generous host (with a fantastic chef by the way), visited agra for a night in a 5 * hotel (costing less than a UK travelodge i hasten to add) and then parted ways in Delhi, Lou and fellow leysian Rach flying off to teach in Darjeeling, or somewhere- I wasn't paying too much attention, whilst i took the 6 hour coach journey to my final stop in India, Jaipur. Regular readers may know I am also here to teach, but as that, and my accommodation accompanying it, doesnt start till Sunday, I have lonely planeted myself to a traveller lodge to break and prepare myself for what i believe could well be the end of the holiday part of my trip.
Itinerary over, I thought Id just put a little bit about the remainder of my stay in Africa, and the impression it left on me as I flew off. That said, I had a little look at a map, before I left, to get an idea of the majesty of the coach journey we had all undertaken, and it turns out that Livingstone to Nairobi is really a fingerswidth on the globe, and by no means a tour along the east of Africa, as Ive been so arrogantly telling anyone who'd listen, so any conclusions Ive come to are by no means thorough, and also seen frm the point of view of someone sleeping out of traveller frequented campsites. Therefore rouhly half the people Ive been in contact with have been travellers themselves, and three quarters the other half only being friendly to me so that I would buy their handmade chess/chequers table with reversible top to hold magazines, leaving 12.5% of people being genuine africans. They were my favourite. The title of this entry, TWA, is refferring to an expression,TIA , recognised and unapologetically used throughout africa, "This Is Africa". It is used when for example, an internet cafe computer is broken, or in a long queue for the railticket counter, which should act to brush away any complaints anyone holds, "Not my Fault, and dont expect a solution", is another way of saying it. Brilliantly summarises the attitude of a continent where theyve had it fed to them, that theirs is the backwards underachiever of a world that, outside of here, runs like clockwork, without any hitches or holdups. This is a shame, because most of the people here are so much more eager to help out, learn and get to know you, than anywhere I know in the west, and so these attitudes conflict, and suggest no progress is possible, which it would be. At least at my guessing.
That done, this is what Indias been like: picked up at the airport, where my cashcard hadn't worked yet again, lloyds looking out for me as usual. (Apparantly they rung up home, to check that Im the one in Africa using my card, but as I wasnt there to confirm it, they wouldnt serve my poor father to take the block off, citing security. I hope someone got a decent bonus for that). We arrived at the house, and having very little idea abuot our host, i nearly presented the chef/butler fellow with the thank you gift! For the five days we were there, none of us got truly comfortable being waited upon in that fashion, but i guess its just not questioned here. My first memory of real Delhi will always be the sensation of lou and rachs hand on my back, pushing me to lead the way across the road in the midmorning traffic. A quick word about the traffic: its not like english traffic. There are lanes, with the lines often visible under the middle of a car, and everyone treats it like dodgems, or a game of tetris, falling forward into any available space. And with about 40% of vehicles being tuktuks, little tri wheeled golf carts, the cars dont fit together particularly well. Its brilliant, with the horn being used as if theyre 3 year olds on a toy steering wheel, you cant hear yourself think, and as tuktuk is our main form of transport, being so cheap, thre are no doors, so your litterally right there in the fray. The experience is enhanced if you have a driver who stepped out as the villian of an early arnold swarzenegger film, as we did, turning around to join in the laughter manicly, whilst swerving certain death. Thats the best example of my time in india so far, other highlights being our trip to the taj mahal, where we were the second people through the gate, thanks to having arisen at 5 am, and while the girls stood at the entrance, taking in the sight of the Mughai marvel, i stole ahead, so I ended up as the first person inside the building, getting a private tour of the mosque itself! My guide also sung one or two notes to demonstrate its acoustics, and the sound back was eerie and incredbible and it was cool knowing noone else would witness it as it got very crowded and loud very quickly. Also when we went to the agra fort, it was interesting as the guides didnt seem to have much respect for the attraction, encouraging customers to climb restricted areas for a decent photo, which while a shame, also adds a decent extra dimension to the sightseeing, as you can get much more close and personal with the buildings and sights. In fact we were told by a friend of out host that if you give a little tip to your taj guide, theyll whip out a chisel and get you a bit of the taj to take home! Not sure whether to take with a pinch of salt, which i guess speaks for itself!
Also, on my 6 hour coach journey to jaipur, I watched Slumdog millionaire on my ipod, with the actual slums visible from my window!a surreal experience, but the film itself is definitely worth a look as it gives a very accurate picture of what life in india, at least from what Ive picked up over the last week or so, is like. I guess Ill be able to comment much better after 4 weeks of teaching kids from the poorest areas of jaipur..
Last thing, this morning I had scrambled eggs on toast, 2 cups of tea and a large bottle of aquafina water for just over 1 pound 2p. This country is cheap.
I spy i havent mentioned the serengeti properly- suffice it to say, we camped with the animals and it was incredible- but i figure the photos that i will EVENTUALLY get up will tell it better than i can.
Love and Regards,
Laurie "Rudyard" Kearns