The fort in Jodhpur - a sight that will always make me happy

Before I get to the next leg of my journey, I feel like mentioning a few things that I’ve noticed and learned along the way.  Every time I see something on India, be it a book, TV programme, magazine article or newspaper layout and of course the vast internet, showing travelling opportunities in India, I naturally read or watch it.  It never ceases to amaze me how every account is so different, so much so that if I didn’t know they were all about India I would think they were talking about different countries.  One account that comes to mind is a recent programme I saw about a TV presenter’s trip down the Ganges.  Naturally one of her stops was Varanasi.  I only saw this programme after returning from my last trip, and I have to say, I was pleased about my decision not to stay in Varanasi longer than I did.  I confess I laughed a lot at her reaction to just about everything she experienced.

I started reading a guide for women travelling alone in India, and thank goodness I didn’t read it before I took my first trip.  It started by listing the statistics of rape and murder, which, to be honest, I didn’t think was the way I would have started a book that was supposed to inspire confidence in a lone traveller.  If you have the stomach to read further, I am sure you would agree with me that no matter what country you travel in, the same dangers abound, and if you fail to take certain precautions, you will land yourself in a whole lot of trouble.  Being South African, I am probably more aware of security risks than people from most other countries.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you should definitely do your research before going anywhere, especially if, like me, you travel alone.  It will however get confusing if you try to decide whether or not you will like a place based on someone else’s experience.  We all see things completely differently – even our everyday lives won’t look the same when viewed through different eyes.

Make sure you have a base – secure a booking before you depart, and have the hotel/guest house/home stay information with you at all times.  Arrange for a shuttle from the airport to the place you’re staying, so that you don’t have half the city descend on you when you exit the airport building.  If you haven’t done this, information at the airport is pretty good.  I am talking about India and travelling alone specifically.  Remember, you don’t speak the language, so unless you are in one of the big cities you may not find a tuk tuk driver who can speak English.  In Varanasi, even with a Hindi speaking friend with me, the tuk tuk driver couldn’t find my hotel – that was a really charming ride in the middle of the night in the freezing cold listening to two Hindi men arguing.

Ok, now that I’ve rattled on a bit, let’s get back to my adventure (yes, that’s what it is, good or bad).  I had another long train ride ahead of me, only this time I insisted on staying in a 2-up compartment.  This means that instead of 6 people in the compartment with another 2 on the other side of the isle, there are only 4 people in the compartment with 2 on the other side of the isle.  It makes a huge difference to the amount of space available and obviously to everyone’s comfort.

I was on my way to visit my good friends in Jodhpur and Artiya.  I’d arranged to stay in Artiya for 7 days and then go back to Jodhpur for about 4 days.  The train was delayed (no surprises there), and we arrived in Jodhpur at about 2am.  We got a tuk tuk to the hotel and I have to say that travelling in the city at that time of the morning is wonderful.  I love the madness of the traffic, but you see a different world at night, which I suppose is the case no matter where you are.

The hotel we booked into was the Om Heritage and I loved it.  The bed was fantastic and the room was great.  After having a super quick shower, I crashed and slept soundly.  I don’t know what time I woke up, but I wasn’t even dressed when I was phoned and told that I had visitors.  What a great welcome! Not only did Bhiv (Kiddo’s dad) come to welcome me, but Raj who I had met on my first trip to India was there as well.

I had arranged for Vikram to take me to Artiya, but first it was time to have breakfast and look at the beautiful view of the fort from the hotel.  The two cities that are close to my heart are Jodhpur and Jaipur, and no matter where I visit in future, they will always feel like home.  It was time to say goodbye to Himmat, and then head out to Artiya, the village where Kiddo and his family live.

Artiya

It was so good to be home with my Chauhan family, and the whole family was there including Rinku.

Where do I start with my week’s adventure in Artiya village?  It was the first time I’d visited when the Chauhan house was so quiet.  The first visit was a really quick overnight one and the second was the madness that is an Indian wedding, so being in the village when it is quiet was a completely different experience for me.  Make no mistake, there is no such thing as sleeping late – village households’ rise and shine very early in the morning – around 5 or 5:30am, and generally by 10pm its lights out and time to sleep.  Bhiv went to work in Jodhpur every morning,  and the rest of the day was spent watching the village and its people go about their everyday lives.

For at least half of my stay I had trouble keeping my balance.  It was the strangest feeling, probably as a result of having flu, which affected my ears, and very many hours of train travel.  If I wanted to climb the stairs I had to keep my hand on the wall to stay upright.

Preparation for the dry Summer months was in full swing.  Stocking up on food items that can be dried in the sun and stored in the pantry was a common activity in all the villages I visited.  It was incredible watching ladies much older than me mixing a huge batch of stiff batter by hand, before it is rolled into individual rounds and then left in the sun to dry.  I gave it a go and failed miserably – these ladies are strong and half my size.

Tinu took me to visit different homes where, as always, I felt very welcome.  She discovered my phone camera and took endless pictures and videos, some of which I will publish.  I did her makeup which was quite a feat, considering the fact that all the products I had with me were for fair skin.  She treated me by painting my hands and feet with henna.  One of the biggest treats for me was just sitting in the kitchen at night while the ladies cooked.  Having grown up in a house where the kitchen was always a place where we sat and chatted and laughed and, of course, ate, it is a place I associate with good times, and in the Chauhan house it is exactly the same.  One of the things I loved to see was the spice box that is a fixture in every Indian kitchen.  Imagine the wonderfully intoxicating aroma of spices........divine.  This is a far cry from my grubby spice bottles stuck at the back of my grocery cupboard that expired in the year dot.

Everywhere I looked there were baby animals.  It seemed that India was “in calf” so to speak.  Goats, Dogs, Cows...you name it, there were babies.  I was taken to visit the village where Kiddo’s granny lives.  I have to say that this village is very fertile.  There were children everywhere – human ones, and I was introduced to the most gorgeously soft kid (baby goat in this instance).  I wanted to kidnap him (pun intended).  Being in this village reminded me how different each village is.  Each one has its own unique atmosphere and idiosyncrasies.

On the way home from Kiddo’s granny’s village, we stopped off at Arjun’s village (kiddo’s sister Rinku is married to him).  No one was home, so we went on our merry way to visit the village and home of Tinu’s future husband.  What wonderful warm people.  I received a warm welcome and felt really sad that I wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding scheduled for March 2018.  I do believe that everything happens for a reason, but this one I still can’t figure out.

We got back in the car and were on our way, but of course there were still a couple of stops on the way.  It simply wouldn’t do to go from point A to point B without dropping in on all family and friends en route.  This time I was treated to a very special meal at our driver’s home.  I have no idea what the meal was called but the chapatti was much courser than any I had tasted before.  Naturally I discovered a puppy dog that needed some loving, and I was shown a beautiful horse, obviously the owner’s pride and joy. 

I was “treated” to a special meal of rabbit one night.  I can’t remember which night but the rabbit in question had been specially procured to celebrate my visit.  Kiddo was so excited about the forthcoming meal, but I have to say that seeing the rabbit before it was ready for the pot was not something I want to repeat.  This reminded me just how spoilt I really am – I can love and cuddle animals, but in an Indian village they are a means of survival and aren’t viewed in quite the same light, and that takes some getting used to.

On my last day in Kiddo’s village, I was woken at about 5am to the very loud Indian music being played by Rinku.  My siblings will laugh out loud if they read this – my father used to do this to us on a Sunday morning and laugh his head off at our reaction.  Bhiv took the day off work and made sure that a party atmosphere was introduced into the house, although in this instance, as I said, Rinku had beaten him to it.    He went all out to make sure that the day was memorable.  We danced – just because – we went off to see a friends new petrol station and we were treated to chai and snacks.  I love the way everything is celebrated in India.  Perhaps that’s why I fit in so well – if I get a new vacuum cleaner I celebrate, so being in a country where everything is celebrated, I feel right at home.  New cars are decorated with ribbon over the bonnet, the way we decorate a car for a wedding – lovely.  We also visited another relative and had chai and biscuits with them.  It won’t matter how often I visit, I will always be blown away by the warm welcome I receive wherever I go.

All too soon it was time to leave.  This is the part I hate.  Vikram came to fetch me, and Bhiv and Bhanwar (Kiddo’s mom) joined me on the trip to Jodhpur.