You Want Ali Baba Pants?

Day 4 in India, day 56 of my voyage

We got to sleep in today! Our wake up call came at 6 am, as we had a very busy day in Jaipur. Our first stop was at the Hawa Majal, or Palace of Winds. It was built in 1799 to house the emperor. We only got to see the outside, which is five stories tall and covered with intricate lattice work. It is said that this lattice work was created for the palace ladies to look out onto the streets without being seen, as they still observed the practice of keeping women’s faces covered. Like many building in India, it was built with red and pink sandstone. After the Palace of Winds, we were off for the highlight of the day: Amber Fort. We weren’t really excited to see the fort, we were more excited for our mode of transportation to the fort once we got to the base of the hill it was built on.

 

Upon arriving at the fort, our guide bought us our tickets, and we starting standing in line for our ride to the fort. Eventually, Cara and I made it to the front of the line and up onto the platform, and our mode of transportation walked up. She was a big grey elephant, and her face was still painted from the Elephant Festival that had taken place the week before. We climbed on the saddle type thing on her back, and we were off. It was about a 20 or 25 minute ride up to the top of the fort, and it was a very enjoyable experience. She was a very calm elephant, and her owner was hilarious. Once we got to the top, we had a tour of the fort, took some more pictures, then we were off to a jewelry place. The jewelry place specialized in precious and semiprecious stones, and quite a few people bought some things. The most annoying thing was the fact that we spent an hour and a half in the jewelry store, but we only got to spend an hour at the Taj. Why? Because our tour guide gets commission for products that get bought at the jewelry store by the people he brings there. This is how India works. If autorickshaw drivers or tour guides take tourists to certain stores and the tourists buy things, the guide or drivers get commission. So our tour guide was getting a BIG commission because a bunch of people bought jewelry.

 

We headed to lunch at a little restaurant, then we had 3 more locations to get to before we were done for the day. First, we headed to the Jantar Mantar, or the observatory. Here we got to see the biggest sundial in the world. They had a bunch of crazy tools for telling time and the location of the stars. Some of the instruments were also used for astrology. There were things that told you what specific zodiac sign you were in, there were others that told you where the moon was located, and others that did even more. After the observatory we headed to the City Palace, where we got to see some old relics from earlier days, such as weapons, chess sets, and clothing. After these two places we headed to a rug factory to see exactly how the beautiful hand-woven rugs are made. A small one takes 4 months to complete, and we got to watch one of the craftsmen sit there and tie the knots in the rug. A few of the people bought the smallest rugs, which started at $160, but you can bargain them down to $100. All of them were made with cashmere thread and were SO soft to touch. We also got to go upstairs to their textile store, where they sold everything from saris to placemat sets to table runners, all made from beautiful and bright materials.

 

After the rug store, we headed back to our hotel. Dinner wasn’t for another two hours, so Cara and I hopped in an autorickshaw and headed to a market. Markets in India tend to be outdoors, and there are usually a ton of people. One of the more popular stores we saw was a bangle store. Bangles (for those who don’t know) are the bracelets that are loose on your wrist and jingle when you move your arm. There were entire stores full of these bracelets. There were cabinets going up to the ceiling holding bangles of every size, color, and noisiness you can imagine. We wandered amongst all of the shops, dodging a cow wandering along the sidewalk every now and then. Yes, cows just wander about. Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion, so they do not kill them or eat them, and they can roam pretty much wherever they like. We had to go around one while we were in our bus because a cow was lying in the middle of the road. Anyways, Cara and I did a bit of shopping, then we headed back to the hotel for dinner and bed, since we had yet another really early morning the next day.

 

Day 5 in India, day 57 of my voyage

Our flight left at 8:10, so we got a wake up call at 5 and were out of the hotel by 6. We had a flight layover in Mumbai, which ended up getting delayed, so by the time all of our traveling was done, we got back to the ship around 3:30. After going to immigration, we waited in line to get back on the ship. An Indian immigration officer came up to me and started asking me all these questions, like my name, am I on the ship, how long have I been on the ship, etc. Eventually I realized that he thought I was Indian and that I was trying to get on the ship. This was the fifth time throughout my time in India that I had been mistaken for an Indian, which still amazes me, as I don’t think I look Indian at all.

 

Once I was back on the ship, Cara and I had hot dogs upstairs, then I showered and waited for the others to get back. Once Graham and Shauna got back, we decided we wanted to try and go see a movie. Originally, we planned on trying to find a movie theater that was showing Alice in Wonderland, since Shauna and I were both dying to see it. When we couldn’t find a theater that was showing it, we decided to see My Name Is Khan, which was in Hindi and did not have subtitles. Despite the obvious issues with the language barrier, the three of us understood perfectly what was going on in the movie, and we all loved it. It made us laugh and cry and gave us a bit of insight into what other nations might think of the United States at times, especially after 9/11.  There were about 10 other SASers there as well, and we definitely got some strange looks when the lights came on after the movie. After, we headed back to the ship and went to bed, to prepare for one final day of bargain shopping before sailing on the big blue ocean again.

 

Day 6 in India, day 58 of my voyage

Last day in India! Alli, Shauna, Graham and I got up and hopped in an autorickshaw and went to a market in a fishing village. It was the perfect place to find last minutes knick-knacks, clothes, souvenirs, and gifts. We went into a jewelry store since Shauna still wanted a ring from India, and then we just wandered around. Graham was on a mission to find “pajamas”, which is the name of a traditional men’s outfit in India. It consists of a knee length shirt with slits up the sides to the hip and long pants. They look ridiculously comfy, and he finally managed to find a set at one store. Along with Graham’s pants, Shauna and I found “Ali Baba” pants. They are really difficult to describe unless you have seen Aladdin and know what pants he wears. They have elastic at the bottom of the legs and are worn around the middle of your calves, and the crotch of the pants hangs really low, so they almost look like a dress when you wear them. They are absolutely the comfiest pair of pants I have ever worn, and I have every intention of wearing mine when I get off the ship in May. We had a final Indian lunch, then had our rickshaw driver take us to find henna. We were originally looking for a place to get henna done, but we couldn’t find one, so our driver found us a place to buy our own tubes of henna to do on the ship. After that, it was back home to the ship for us.

 

We got back to the ship, had some dinner, then had a henna party while listening to Indian music. It was a great way to end my trip in India, and I really hope I get to go back and explore of this wonderful country. Anything I said in my blog cannot accurately describe the country, as it is one of the ones that I truly cannot find words to describe. All of the people are incredibly welcoming, and you cannot go anywhere without getting a smile and a wave. One of the most interesting things I found was that India has some of the poorest people in the world, yet they are also some of the happiest people I have ever seen. It just goes to show you that money doesn’t necessarily equal happiness, no matter how easy it may make your life. India is the definition of poverty. As I said a little earlier, there are little shantytowns everywhere, there are people sleeping all over the streets at night, and there is trash everywhere. Over half of the population is living on less than $2 a day. Yet somehow, none of this takes away from the enchantment of the country. The children love foreigners and love giving high fives, and the parents don’t mind you touching and talking to their babies at all. People have no shame about coming up and asking to take a picture with you, and they get so excited when you say yes. There is so much culture and so much love for culture that it can be overwhelming. India is one of the oldest countries in the world, and the traditions have been carried out for thousands of years. So far, India has by far been my favorite port, and the only one I feel truly compelled to go back to at some point in my life. Everyone who has a chance really should visit this absolutely amazing place that holds almost 1/5 of the world’s population, as you can learn a lot by just visiting for 5 or 6 days. I am really going to make it a goal of mine to go back for a longer amount of time and really get to know people and explore in places I didn’t get to see this time around.