My overnight train from Udaipur to Jaipur was not a pleasant one. I had booked myself into 2AC (the second highest class) and so was expecting luxury, but this train was crowded, bug-infested and the sheets on my bed were so stained I could only guess that once upon a time they had been white. I boarded the train late at night and was due to disembark at the crack of dawn (5am) so couldn't really allow myself to fall into a deep sleep. Even worse, I was beginning to feel really quite sick.
Now, I have been traveling for five months and have eaten filthy food from filthy vendors on four continents without getting ill (apart from a minor stomach ache in Bolivia), however nothing could prepare me for India. Gastroenteritis on every plate, you would need a stomach of steel to survive more than a fortnight here without succumbing! I guess today was my time.
I arrived at my hotel very early in the morning and was told by the groggy receptionist that they had no record of my reservation and didn't know whether anyone would check-out that morning. With little other option I went through to the lounge to sit and wait it out. I spent the next five or so hours trying to ignore an incredibly flatulent Indian teenager sleeping on the floor near my feet.
Eventually a room was found and I collapsed on the bed. I spent the rest of the day rather feverish and delirious, but was lucky enough to bump into a pair of German midwives on my way to buy water from the hotel's restaurant. They plied me with drugs and sent me back to bed.
Day 141
After a terrible night's sleep I felt even more ill this morning. Realizing though that I had to leave my room for at least an hour I grabbed a rickshaw and headed to Jaipur's old city. In 1876 the Maharajah had the entire city painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales and so it remains today. I began by visiting the City Palace which was pretty boring then crossed the street to look at the Jantar Mantar, a massive observatory complex built in the 18th century. Passing through the gates you could be forgiven for thinking you had entered a giant's skate park as the lawns were littered with five-storey-high astronomical objects of surreal shape and design. As my camera is malfunctioning again (it takes photos, but won't connect to computers anymore) I have had to steal these pictures off google.
I finished with the briefest look at the Hawa Mahal (a five-storey) pink sandstone building that apparently is Jaipur's most famous building and then swiftly hailed a rickshaw to drive me home. Rather unexpectedly the drivers were a pair of Siamese twins conjoined at the hip, but I was feeling so ill I barely noticed.
Another evening was spent in bed. Thankfully my room has a TV with two English language channels.
Day 142
It is 5.30pm, I haven't left my room all day and in three hours I will be getting a mammoth 20-hour train down to Mumbai. Not looking forward to it.
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