Grinder backpacking Asia round 2

Which is why Saudi Arabia chops off a thief's right hand. He can no longer eat with others.

I never much cared for those sit on the floor use chopsticks eat tofu type places.

Hookah clubs bring more than perfumed tobacco they bring a resurgence in their culture.

Last time we talked I was waiting to do laundry in Agra. I did my laundry and hung it on the lines to dry outside. My hostel offers a boat tour behind the Taj Mahal to take pictures that isn’t exactly legal, and by that I mean it isn’t legal. The river has no security checks so we aren’t supposed to be on it. For $5 Canadian, a guy takes us out onto the river on his little wooden boat and we get some amazing pictures at sundown. Basically we pay him, he pays off the authorities who were right there and all is good.



After we were done taking pictures our guide from the hostel took us to a rooftop bar to take pictures. We tried to order drinks but the server never came back so we took pictures and left. The view from the rooftop was amazing.

We saw some monkeys by the Taj Mahal. I love monkeys but you have to be careful cause those little devils will steal all your stuff if given the chance.

We walked back to the hostel and I went in search of dinner. I went to a restaurant near the hostel and had dinner with two British ladies from my hostel. They were very kind and we ate and talked for a hour or so. I had paneer butter masala which was good but had a bit too much butter in my opinion. I went to bed early because I was getting up at 5 am to go the Taj with the Brits and a guy from my room.

I woke up bright and early and the four of us walked to the Taj Mahal, the streets were so empty. It was nice and peaceful.

I waited in line to buy tickets for the four of us and they went to wait in the line to get in so that we were at the front of both lines. I met a nice girl from Vancouver in the line and found Fabio a guy I met in Dehli at the hostel. We got tickets and the three of us joined the the three from my hostel at the front of the line for the Taj Mahal. The gates opened around 7:15 am and after metal detectors and a pat down we were in. The problem was the fog was so thick that we couldn’t see anything.
The Taj and I.

The British girls were in a hurry because their train was leaving at noon so they went ahead. The four of us that remained laughed and joked how great the view was. Oh and by the way this whole time it is only 6 degrees Celsius and we were frozen. My only hoody was soaking wet and drying on the line at the hostel. We spent the next few hours taking some pictures and just hanging out, waiting for the fog to disappear. It came and went for a while. I got some cool looking foggy photos.


We tried taking a group selfie but the fog just came back as we took it.

I really like this picture.

Around 9 am the fog went away mostly and we were able to get some good pictures. This shot is the view we were supposed to get when we walked in but the fog made that impossible.

This is a shot from inside the building that leads to the Taj Mahal. I liked how it framed the Taj.


We left and walked back to the hostel area to grab breakfast and chai because we were still frozen. We went to Bob Marley’s in Fabio’s hostel and had a decent meal. We parted ways, the guys were leaving that afternoon and Laura and I made plans to hang out later that night.

I laid in the sun for most of the afternoon just enjoying the ability to relax a bit. I messaged Laura and we decided to walk to Mehtab Bagh which is on the opposite side of the river where you can take pictures of the Taj. We walked, well half the distance. Laura took too long getting ready so we walked for 45 minutes and then took a tuk tuk the rest of the way so we could see the sunset. We got there and for some reason they wouldn’t let us pay to go in and instead sent us to a spot just beside it that was free... ok thanks I guess lol. We took some pictures and we were hounded by this kid that was determined to sell us a snow globe no matter how many times we said no.
We were mocking the photos that the tourists were trying to take. This is me “not” holding up the Taj.

Laura and I.


We left Mehtab Bagh and walked the 1:45 back to the hostel in the dark. My feet were a bit sore from all the walking. We had google maps but some of the walk got a little sketchy. We were safe but we weren’t quite sure about the way the maps were taking us. We walked the whole 1:45 and talked the whole time. Laura is awesome!

Laura bought some fruit and then we met two girls from her hostel for dinner. We went to a terrible restaurant with terrible service but it was fun. We were the only ones in the restaurant and yet it took a hour to get my chilli paneer which is a simple dish and the girls ordered veggie soup, fries, spring rolls and smoothie. None of that should have taken long as most of it was probably frozen or from a can. At the end of the meal the guy gave us the bill and it had a 20% service charge, I looked at the guy and said there is no way we were paying it. I said the food took a hour and we paid for our food and left. The four of us were laughing that he thought we’d pay a service charge. Some service would have been nice though lol.

I had a train early the next morning so I pulled my clothes off the line, I should have done that earlier as the humidity had made them a tad damp after the sun went down. Oops I’ll know for next time. I packed and went to bed as I was waking up at 5 am for my train... or so I thought.

Now this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Jaipur!
(How many people get this reference?)

But really this day was a shit show! I woke up at 5 and my train was delayed by 3 hours so I went back to bed for a few hours. My train was delayed 4 more times for a total of 3.5 more hours. I finally went to the station and my train arrived only for me to find out that it no longer goes to Jaipur. I bought the ticket to Jaipur and it says Jaipur on my ticket but yet the train doesn’t go there, what a joke. So now my options are to either figure out how to buy a ticket for the 6 pm train and then if it is on time which it probably wouldn’t have been I would have gotten into Jaipur around midnight. I chose option two which was to pay $80 Canadian for a taxi that drove me the 5 hours from Agra to Jaipur. At the end of the day it’s only money and my sanity was more important to me.

The driver was nice and the car was comfy, it was a new Toyota. About halfway to Jaipur he stops at a tourist trap so he can have chai and keeps insisting I go in and get food. The gift shop and all the food was jacked up about 500%, I just laughed. He obviously got a cut of anything I bought, what’s his cut of $0? There were two tourist buses also stopped here so I guess it’s where they take all the tourists. My driver came back around 15 minutes later and seemed disappointed that I hadn’t bought anything. Sorry dude! We drove he rest of the way, I paid around $9 Canadian in tolls and the driver took me straight to the hostel. As I said thanks and left the cab he started asking me for a tip and money for the return tolls. I just looked at him and said I paid the agreed upon price which wasn’t cheap, I’m not giving you more money. The whole point of haggling a price is that I pay that price. The way I see it is I paid for a service and he performed that service, end of story. I wasn’t angry about the stop in the middle but that was clearly to his benefit, a tip is for great service which I don’t think was provided. Just my two cents, feel free to disagree with me.

After a very long day I met a Australian guy in the room and we went and grabbed dinner. I had a Thali platter and got a piece of chocolate/red velvet cake at the attached bakery. I then went to bed as I was exhausted from the day.

I woke up late yesterday and took a stroll to the post office. This is the first post office that didn’t look like a shed lol. I then ordered a tuk tuk off Ola (uber) to take me to Amer Fort. The first one refused the ride cause he was lazy and the second one didn’t come and find me, I had to find him. He seemed annoyed that I had found him but took me to the Fort. The Fort isn’t in Jaipur, it’s in Amer 45 minutes away. The tuk tuk only cost 150 rupees which is $3, I don’t know how they make money like that cause gas isn’t cheap here. I spent a few hours checking out the Fort and the gardens attached. The Fort is very cool, walking up steep hills in the blistering sun was less cool.


This is the mountain across the street. A local told me that a king had had this built for protection.

I found a “restaurant” for lunch. They didn’t have a menu they just offered different kinds of Parathas that are bread with onions, jalapeños, spinach and whatever extra thing you choose. I had one with cheese and one with cauliflower. They also gave me a spinach curry to dip it in. The food was excellent and when I went to pay I found out my whole meal was only 100 rupees!

This is the kitchen, yes I know some of you will say eww this isn’t a clean kitchen.


After lunch I checked out a few shops and bought a few souvenirs. I also saw my first elephant in India!

Elephants are the most beautiful creatures.

Well I’m all caught up again, I’m trying to not fall behind because the longer I procrastinate the worse it gets. I’m not sure yet what I plan to do today but tomorrow I’m hopefully taking a train to Jodhpur. Bye for now!

The Taj Mahal pocs, even the foggy ones are awesome! It looks like a painting.

Is Laura the one from Vancouver?

The ladies wearing the head and face covers with their lycra leggings in the elephant picture crack me up.

Did you buy the snowglobe from the persistent kid?

PG,or should I say Will,I got your reference to the Prince of Jaipur.

Quote: PokerGrinder

We saw some monkeys by the Taj Mahal. I love monkeys but you have to be careful cause those little devils will steal all your stuff if given the chance.

A guide on the Rock of Gibraltar told us that the reason the Barbary apes there will steal cell phones and cameras is just that theft is the only way for them to upgrade their technology.

;-)

I would have been terrified of those monkeys. My cousin had a monkey. It was always nice when she was around. One day in went into his room when she wasn't there and thought in would play wth it. I opened the cage and he ransacked the entire room and bit me. They are crazy little creatures.

Aye - yes I’m thrilled with my Taj Mahal pics, especially the ones with the reflection on the water. I plan on getting a few of them framed. Yes Laura is the girl from Vancouver. That’s funny I didn’t even notice the women in the elephant picture. I do find it amusing when the ladies are dressed up but still wear the full head and face coverings. I didn’t buy the snowglobes, the ones he was selling were crap quality.

Hunterhill - I’m glad you got it. The song seemed appropriate for how my day went. I wasn’t sure if the average age on this forum would be too old for the reference.

Doc - haha your guide amuses me.

Quote: GWAE

I would have been terrified of those monkeys. My cousin had a monkey. It was always nice when she was around. One day in went into his room when she wasn't there and thought in would play wth it. I opened the cage and he ransacked the entire room and bit me. They are crazy little creatures.

I just stay very aware of where they are especially if I am carrying bags.

I know they have sacred cows, but how do they feel about monkeys?

If one of those devils tried to rob me my reaction would be to kill it; would anyone care, or are they deemed expendable pests?

Great posting as always.

On the Tuk-Tuks, these are essentially lawn mower engines with very small horsepower. From what the internets tell me, their mileage is between 2.50 L/100km and 5.0L/100km (47- 94 mpg) so your 14km (9 mile) trip from Jaipur to Amer might have taken between .3 and .7 of a litre of gas (.1 - .2 Gallons). At 74 Rupees/L in Jaipur (about $4 USD / Gallon, $1.40 Cdn/L), their gas cost would be between 22 and 53 rupees, so still quite a profitable trip for them. Over 45 minutes, that would have netted them between 278 and 247 rupees or about $5/Cdn/hour, which is not nothing in India.

Quote: MrV

, but how do they feel about monkeys? If one of those devils tried to rob me my reaction would be to kill it

Perhaps you missed that recent item about a guy from Florida walking in Bali when a monkey stole his Pittsburg Steelers cap? Last I heard he was in a coma and his family was trying to get him airlifted to a place with better medical treatment.

Never fight with a monkey, Just blow your ultrasonic dog whistle and say "Feet, do your stuff".

Hmmm, sounds like someone needs to market "Monkey Mace."

Quote: MrV

Hmmm, sounds like someone needs to market "Monkey Mace."

Try carrying it thru customs, airport gropes, museum guard posts, etc. Ain't nothing more effective than those dog whistles that we can't hear. Perhaps it annoys them, mimics a predator or is just new and strange to them.

Whistles may work, but there's few things as satisfying as physically smiting your adversary.

If a monkey steals from me the little devil has to pay!

I had a monkey attack me in Malaysia last year, scared the crap out of me. I backed off real quick.

Quote: boymimbo

Great posting as always.

On the Tuk-Tuks, these are essentially lawn mower engines with very small horsepower. From what the internets tell me, their mileage is between 2.50 L/100km and 5.0L/100km (47- 94 mpg) so your 14km (9 mile) trip from Jaipur to Amer might have taken between .3 and .7 of a litre of gas (.1 - .2 Gallons). At 74 Rupees/L in Jaipur (about $4 USD / Gallon, $1.40 Cdn/L), their gas cost would be between 22 and 53 rupees, so still quite a profitable trip for them. Over 45 minutes, that would have netted them between 278 and 247 rupees or about $5/Cdn/hour, which is not nothing in India.

Yes that I figured out the first time I saw one started. He pulled a lever over and over until it started like a lawnmower. The 45 minute trip was only 149 rupees there and 230 back in a taxi. (Toyota) Otherwise your numbers seem right.

Should we send a St. Bernard to search for PokerGrinder. Perhaps instead of a cask of brandy the dog should carry some new batteries for his phone/laptop or whatever?

Quote: FleaStiff

Should we send a St. Bernard to search for PokerGrinder. Perhaps instead of a cask of brandy the dog should carry some new batteries for his phone/laptop or whatever?

Did anyone gets a ransom note for 10,000 bananas?

As a reminder to those reading from a suite at the Wynn...

The fortune cookie is correct when you open it outside and it reads "You were right, it wasn't chicken"...

In India, who ever knows what you are eating. I doubt it's chicken. Even here in Thailand in "more expensive" Indian restaurants there is an ongoing dispute on "mutton", as to whether it's goat or lamb. Any Indian diner with tell you goat, but the "owner" will always claim "New Zealand lamb". When you add masala or korma sauce and that spicy green stuff, any sense of the flavor of the "meat" is lost.

None of it matters as long as "it fills me up and I don't get sick".

Where is PG now????

Quote: NokTang

In India, who ever knows what you are eating. I doubt it's chicken. Even here in Thailand in "more expensive" Indian restaurants there is an ongoing dispute on "mutton", as to whether it's goat or lamb. Any Indian diner with tell you goat, but the "owner" will always claim "New Zealand lamb". When you add masala or korma sauce and that spicy green stuff, any sense of the flavor of the "meat" is lost.

Goat can be almost as tasty as lamb but you can't do a straight substitution in recipes. If you do the, goat meat will be tough and chewy.

Quote:

None of it matters as long as "it fills me up and I don't get sick".

I can't figure out how PG has managed to chow down on all that street food and not get sick yet. Talk about beating the odds.

Third world food is some of the most delicious food you will ever eat in your life.

Best fried chicken I ever ate was in Iraq.

Quote: TigerWu

Third world food is some of the most delicious food you will ever eat in your life.

Best fried chicken I ever ate was in Iraq.

Are you sure it was chicken?

I've got nothing against 3rd world food... it street vendor food I avoid. That includes the Dirty Water Dogs sold by push-cart vendors in NY

Quote: TumblingBones

Goat can be almost as tasty as lamb but you can't do a straight substitution in recipes. If you do the, goat meat will be tough and chewy.


I can't figure out how PG has managed to chow down on all that street food and not get sick yet. Talk about beating the odds.

I can't speak for PokerGrinder,but people getting sick on street food is more of an American thing.
I have spent alot of time in 3rd world countries,and most of the locals say that Europeans and Asians can usually eat the food and not get sick but Americans seem to have the least tolerance.

Quote: TumblingBones

I've got nothing against 3rd world food... it street vendor food I avoid. That includes the Dirty Water Dogs sold by push-cart vendors in NY

I MUST eat at least one every trip to Manhattan. Bathed in mustard, sauerkraut, and onions.

High volume is the key for street vendors but those 'beef one hundred percent pure' franks are nothing but lips and its NOT one hundred percent pure beef, its beef one hundred percent pure,

Quote: TumblingBones

I can't figure out how PG has managed to chow down on all that street food and not get sick yet. Talk about beating the odds.

Canadians are hardcore. Heck they have to put warnings on their toilets to keep people from drinking from them.

Hello! Sorry I’ve been really busy and too lazy to do a write up. I’m currently in Udaipur. I’m having lunch and then my plan is to head back to the hostel and update the thread.

As far as the food I have a few rules I eat by. First I don’t eat at street food places that locals aren’t eating and they must be decently busy. If they are dead then who knows how long the food has been there. In India I don’t eat meat from street stalls or raw veggies. Other than that I find that common sense is usually the difference between getting sick and not getting sick. If you see it getting cooked then it’s most likely good.

Yes, high volume means a quick turnover of inventory, nothing sits around long enough to become contaminated. Locals constantly observe and "vote" on a street vendor or restaurant. Also fewer items means more attention is paid to their actions,

Even countries such as Spain and Portugal have restaurants wherein the menu might be five or six items but an establishment of that size in the USA would easily have 20 or 30 items on its menu, Spanish restaurants will frequently run out of an entrée because it was popular and the customers ordered it, the restaurant does not prepare humungous amounts in advance and have to store anything for a long time,

Glad you are ok, was getting a little concerned.

Good to hear you're ok PG,I thought you might have been hit by a 30 lb block of frozen poop.
http://aol.it/2GcUK6H

Never a need to worry, I get lazy posting sometimes in my TR’s. Also if you had checked out my profile I sign on everyday and I think I had commented on a few threads.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Never a need to worry, I get lazy posting sometimes in my TR’s. Also if you had checked out my profile I sign on everyday and I think I had commented on a few threads.

you give us too much credit to be that investigative.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Never a need to worry, I get lazy posting sometimes in my TR’s. Also if you had checked out my profile I sign on everyday and I think I had commented on a few threads.

I have to admit I went looking on the 23rd, saw you had been on. Glad you're having such a great adventure.

Quote: beachbumbabs

I have to admit I went looking on the 23rd, saw you had been on. Glad you're having such a great adventure.

Thanks Babs, I’m having a blast. Been super busy and I just haven’t had the energy. I’m laying on the roof of the hostel right now and I’m about to write an update.

Last time I updated you all I was in Jaipur... whoops that was 7 days ago, I’m really good at this procrastination thing. So for my second day in Jaipur I decided to go shopping at this large market. I bought some random gifts for people back home. I think I enjoy buying things because of the haggling, it’s so much fun. The best part is because there are 100 shops selling the same thing I have no problem walking out and quite often the shop owner will come after you and take the price you had offered. Too many tourists are afraid to properly haggle in my opinion. As a tourist I know I’m paying a lot more than a local but the prices they quote are crazy. You should pay about 30-40% of the price that they say it is.

After I bought too many things at the market I took a tuk tuk to the monkey temple. I think that one is pretty self explanatory. Yes there were hundreds of monkeys, also dogs and pigs. The monkeys were very calm and didn’t try and steal my bags like they did to some people in Malaysia last year. There was a guy who came and unloaded two massive bags of melons, bananas, apples and fried things for the monkeys to eat. He also brought a giant bowl of what looked sort of like cottage cheese. I’m not sure who he was or why he was feeding the monkeys but they all loved it.


I then walked up the large mountainside to the temple at the top. There were pigs and piglets on the way up. The monkeys played well with the pigs.


I got back to the hostel, my plan was to drop off the stuff I bought and then go in search of dinner. I found two guys that I met on my way out of Agra and we chatted for a bit before the three of us and a guy from Delhi went out for dinner. The guy from Delhi had a car so he took us to a place he liked. It was a fancy rooftop restaurant. The prices were much more than any of us had been spending but it was still not that bad as it’s India. We had a couple of beers each, they are twice the size here. We then had one of my favourite meals of the trip. The food was Mexican Indian and it was amazing. The Indian guy didn’t want food so the three of us shared a nachos appetizer which was just chips with Indian seasoning, unmelted tiny cheese cubes, tomatoes and lettuce, it was very tasty. We then had tacos, we each had one mutton, one butter chicken and one paneer masala. I didn’t think it would be enough food until it came but it definitely was. The meat ones had about 4 ounces of meat each and the paneer one was equally stuffed. The tacos had lettuce and sour cream on them with salsa on the side. I was in heaven with how good this food was. If I had been in Jaipur I probably would have gone back again. All told for our “expensive” meal, with an app and two drinks it was $21 Canadian each, not too shabby.

The next day I took a train from Jaipur to Jodhpur and would you believe it, the train was basically on time and it actually went where I needed it too. What a concept! I didn’t do much that night as I was tired but I did check out a restaurant that was recommend to me called Vijay’s. I had shahi paneer and govind gatta. The paneer was excellent, the govind gatta (vegetable balls in curry) was less so but overall a solid meal.

This is the beautiful clock tower that I passed in the market. More on that later.

I made my way back to the hostel and managed to stay awake long enough to watch the Patriots game on my phone. By the time the game ended and the adrenaline went away I fell asleep around 6 am on the terrible beds at the hostel. I was not a fan of the hostel, mostly cause of the beds.

This was my view of the Mehrangarh Fort from the roof of the hostel.


The next day turned into a very lazy one. I didn’t have much energy since I was up so late. I had some chilli paneer at the rooftop restaurant at the hostel and it was absolutely amazing! It’s an Indo-Chinese dish that I tried at a terrible restaurant in Agra and boy am I glad I gave it another chance. I would order it again for lunch the next day. After a nap I headed to the market to check out the clock tower. I’m not sure why but I’ve always loved looking at clock towers. I went inside this one and got to see how it worked. The hands of the clock are controlled manually by the same family as when the clock was built. I had a masala dosa for dinner and then headed back to the hostel and called it an early night.

For my last day in Jodhpur I went to the Mehrangarh Fort which is the one that I can see from the rooftop of the hostel. It was about a 35 minute walk there and then a very steep uphill climb up to the Fort that took awhile.

View of the city from the Fort.

I spent a couple hours going through the Fort before trekking down and back to my hostel. I picked up some Indian deserts that were really good other than one stringy sugar thing that I didn’t like. I repacked my bags and went to bed so I could get up for my bus that was leaving for Udaipur the next morning at 6 am.

The bus to Udaipur was packed and not the most comfortable. Luckily the ride was only 4.5 hours and it will be the last time in India that I have to take a train or a bus most likely.

Udaipur is beautiful! It doesn’t smell, it’s quite clean and to be honest it doesn’t feel like india. This has been my favourite city yet! I met a German girl at the hostel and we went for breakfast. Instead of breakfast we had milkshakes, and shared chocolate cake and banana walnut cake, super healthy lol.

After our healthy breakfast we went to the Bagore Ki Haveli Museum which was quite nice and even nicer because it only took 30 minutes to go through. I’m not a big fan of museums but this was ok.

After the museum we walked to the close by Jagdish Temple and had a tour of the place. It was quite something. I’m not huge on the religious aspect of all these temples but the actual buildings are so cool looking.

I bought something for Mom that I knew she’d love and it came with protective casing for while I travel. Bonus! Our last stop of the day was at the City Palace. This museum was a little too long for my liking as about half way through I was extremely bored and ready to leave, sadly the paths just kept going and going.



For dinner we went back to the breakfast spot and had pizza on the roof while watching the sunset over mountains. The pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had. They had a wood fire oven and the pizzas taste so good. I had the exotic pizza with tomatoes, olives, jalapeños, mushrooms and broccoli. I’m not saying I did but I might have gone back twice in the last four days to get the pizza again.

This was taken at the pier after the sun had set. This is the City Palace.


My second day here I slept in and went to lunch, not to the pizza place because that would be crazy...

I then headed back to the hostel to do this write up and that clearly never happened. I played with the hostel puppy which I have been doing everyday. He is a two month old German Shepard named Yoda and he is the most adorable thing ever!

He’s teething and likes chewing on my hand.

Around 5 I was feeling tired so I was going to take a nap but a guy at the hostel invited me to go for a ride on his motorcycle to the top of the mountain for sunset. We didn’t end up at the mountain as we couldn’t figure out how to get up there so we just went to this park across from the mountain that had amazing views.

It was a little freaky being on the back of the motorcycle (first time on one) but I got used to it pretty quick. It was a fun couple of hours on his bike minus the fact that I could feel every bump in the road. We had some drinks on the roof and then around midnight there was a birthday celebration for my buddy Bart with the motorcycle and one of the hostel workers. Beer was thrown all over the two of them and then cake as well. It got wild and crazy very quickly.
Ellice and I, she was camera shy.


Yesterday morning Bart, Ellice (German girl from the first day, Chen (Israeli girl) and I went for breakfast and all had Dosa’s. Dosas are Indian bread with potatoes, onions and spices inside of it. I’m not sure how else to explain them. After breakfast I dropped off my laundry to be cleaned and we all headed to Shri Manshapurna Karni Mata Temple. It was about 45 minute walk there and we climbed the mountainside instead of taking the cable cars. I was so sweaty and breathing very heavily by the time we got to the top as was everyone else. The climb up took about 20-30 minutes and was so steep. The climb down was much nicer but still tough because of how steep it was. We walked back to the hostel and had some yummy street food on the way. Last night five of us from the hostel went to Bagore Ki Haveli for an Indian song and dance that they do every night. The line was hundreds of people deep but because we are tourists we went to the front of the line, weird but I won’t argue with it. We sat on mats which were beyond uncomfortable and watched the hour long show. Song and dance are not my cup of tea and I did get bored at points but there were some neat dances as well. There was a guy with puppets, ladies dancing with fire on their heads and a lady that balance many bowls on her head and kept adding more.




The reason the pictures aren’t very good is because I wasn’t actually supposed to be taking photos so I had to hide my phone.

This morning Chen, Jonathan (NYC) and I went for lunch. I had chole batura which I always enjoy. Chen wanted to go to the market quick to grab some warm pants and socks for when she heads way up north in India. I figured this would be about 20 minutes... little did I know that she would take 2.5 hours and bore me to death. When she was finally done I didn’t have the pizza again, and I also didn’t have an Oreo milkshake to go with it.

I don’t have anything planned for tonight. I might grab a couple beers and sit on the rooftop. I have one more day in Udaipur and then I fly to Mumbai. Hopefully I won’t get this far behind again on my updates. No promises though.

Thanks for the fascinating update PG! What’s up with most cities having a smell and one that doesn’t? What’s different?

Do all the buildings have seating on their rooftops?

There is less garbage and less animals roaming around crapping everywhere. Very few cows in the touristy area.

Most hostels seem to have a rooftop. Lots of restaurants do.

I’m so pumped, I have a whole day with no plans. Lazy days are nice during travel.

I swear every good restaurant in Udaipur is on a rooftop, my legs are going to be so strong after this lol.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I swear every good restaurant in Udaipur is on a rooftop, my legs are going to be so strong after this lol.

Probably because of all the feces at street level.😳

Quote: PokerGrinder

I swear every good restaurant in Udaipur is on a rooftop, my legs are going to be so strong after this lol.

I chuckle every time I read “Udaipur”.

“You...Diaper?”
“No thanks, I’ll just crap in the street”

Quote: MaxPen

Probably because of all the feces at street level.😳

I don't know why that's funny.....but I did find it funny.

I read that 400 Million people in India don't have electricity and running water in their homes. I don't know if this is true.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I’m so pumped, I have a whole day with no plans. Lazy days are nice during travel.

Check out the local brothel scene. Curious minds want to know. Thanks.

Quote: NokTang

Check out the local brothel scene. Curious minds want to know. Thanks.

I'm sure PokerGrinder has no such inclinations particularly after checking out the hostel scene where all those young lovelies give it away free.

Lol you guys are all about the lady boys and brothels, not my cup of tea. Udaipur is pronounced Ooo-die-poor

Also this city is incredibly clean as I said a couple of days ago, it doesn’t even feel like India.

As you travel to new places, how do you know what areas to avoid? Just as I hear stories in the news of tourists in American big cities wandering into high crime areas and getting rolled or worse, how do you know where to avoid after dark?