Exploring Udaipur and Beyond

The last few days have encompassed quite the spectrum of sensations! On Friday school was actually cancelled due to rain, and the monsoons haven't really even started yet. It's usually just a light drizzle for a few hours, but it always seems worse right when we're stuck outside in it. I'm hoping that we don't have many more cancellations, as there's only about 2 1/2 weeks left of teaching!

Of course, we took advantage of our day off to venture into town and do some shopping. Haggling for prices is expected, especially because they go way up for light skin/blonde hair combo. And the best way to get a price you want is to be rude - don't spend too much time looking in the store, offer a price way lower than you want, and pretend to leave in the middle of negotiations (this one especially is quite effective). But knowing all this, it's still hard for me to be assertive enough over a few dollars, and I'd hate falling into the snobby/rude Westerner stereotype.

Putting that aside, going into town always provides new sights and adventures. While sorting through bedsheets in our favorite clothes shop, an elephant strolls by in the rain. We passed a number of white faces with backpacks in the streets, always accompanied by mutual smiles. My new pastime has become people-watching in the rain and seeing how much trouble even the natives go to just to avoid a bit of water. And on our 30-min ride back in the rickshaw I markerd a personal record - squeezed into one of these tiny vehicles with 16 others! I was thankful to have gotten on early enough to have a seat, rather than balancing half-crouched or hanging out by a hand from the side.

Dinner last night was refreshing - we went to one of several rooftop restaurant/hotels that offered a beautiful view, dishes with meat and without spices, and Indian wine! Getting above the city opened my eyes to its beauty, which is hidden at street level among the cows and garbage heaps. I was surprised to learn that Octopussy (James Bond film) was filmed here, and so of course all the rooftop hotels show it most nights, and each claiming to have the best view in town.

Today was a sightseeing day to Kumbalgarh Fort and a Jain temple in Ranakpur. I'm still debating whether the beautiful sights were worth the ride it took to get there. It was about 2 hours to each sight and home, with loads of bumps and potholes, speeding around hairpin turns up the mountains, nearly colliding with several cows, and playing chicken on narrow roads with buses that refuse to move over. Hindi love songs were our serenading soundtrack, with a retro-sounding string orchestra and tabla drums. Driving through the breathtaking scenery of mountains and green stretches of farmland made the whole thing feel cinematic, and enjoyable when the driving wasn't as extreme. We even saw a group of monkeys up in the mountains, but sped by before I could snatch a picture.

As for the sights themselves, both were immense wonders. The fort was way up in the (Avarelli?) mountains, appearing out of the mist like a forgotten castle. It boasts a wall second only to China's Great Wall in length, and its strategic location allowed invaders in only once, and for 2 days at that. I felt displaced walking inside those ancient walls - the mountains, the mist, the quiet, it all felt so contrasting and remote from the India to which we've grown accotomed.
The Jain temple seated as deep in a valley as the fort was in the mountains. We removed our shoes at the base of the steps (the action's become habitual with all our visits) and climbed into a maze of 1444 carved pillars, no two alike. It's hard to form a description that would capture the majesty and serenity that one could feel among all the white marble, so I'll have to leave it hanging until I can put up some pictures, either soon or when I return home.

One thing that struck me here that I also felt in the Baha'i and Hindu temples - an underlying emptiness in the peaceful cover. I was amazed at the work and the detail in the architecture, but for me there was no tangible spritual presence. Serenity, peace, sanctuary, yes. But also a indescribeble sort of loneliness that would prevent me from spending any extended amount of time in a place like that.

And I'm missing home a bit too now. I'm craving familiar faces, warm showers, and a freshly brewed pot of coffee. But my adventure's only half over - there's still much, much more to come.

~christiana