Day 111 (Dec 7) - catchup
Forgive me Blog, for I have sinned. It's been 31 days since my last post.
(get it? pretending to give confession? no? ok, forget about it...)
So in the past month what has happened? If you've been following on Twitter you'll have some idea of what I've done/where I've been.
* arrived in Pushkar to meet 70 other couchsurfers from India and abroad, including Jaiprakash (JP) who I'd met in Kolkata 2 months earlier, and who'd invited me to come to Pushkar, and Rajasthan with him.
* participated in the Inaugural International Pushkar Fair Kabaddi match (as captain too!)
* interviewed on Rajasthani television after the match, and my photo appeared in two local newspapers
* travelled to Jaisalmer with JP and Austin (from Canada) on a bus with no windscreen, and almost misplaced a fellow passenger on route (unrelated to the missing windscreen)
* did a camel safari in Jaisalmer
* was spotted by an Australian friend who happened to be in Jaisalmer at the same time (neither of us knew each other would be in India)
* Jodhpur (saw the palace and a few other things)
* an overnight sleeper bus to Uidaipur on the bumpiest bus ride of my life. The window opposite us didn't close so Austin and I had to huddle together for warmth.
* Ahmedabad with Austin. Took in two ICL World Series matches (World vs. Bangaladesh, and India vs. Pakistan), and did an Auto-rickshaw tour. See my upcoming photos for more information
* Couchsurfed with Austin in Bhavnagar, and took in Alang, the ship destroying town. This was pretty incredible, as there are shops as you head towards the ocean, selling anything/everything from the ships. CD players, telephones, life jackets, glass, wood, generators, furniture, you-name-it.
* Palitana for the famous Jain temples on the hilltop. On the hike up (2 hours) met a couple from Delhi, who informed us of the Mumbai attack. Austin and I had tickets for the Live Earth concert on the 7th December, so we were planning to head there on the 3rd or 4th
* Palitana to Rapar/Lilpur to couchsurf again, and see Dholavira (a 4500 year old city)
* drunk "apple juice" (Austin's pseudonym for whiskey) in the dry (i.e. no alcohol) state of Gujarat on the highway passing through the salt plans of the Rann of Kutch.
* Headed to Bhuj (again) with Austin to do some family research (find my great grandfather's home)
* To Porbandar (where the Mumbai attackers boarded the fishing boat) which is 50km from Tarsai, my great-grandfather's village.
* took a taxi to Tarsai, and found (after much trouble finding an English speaker, and many phone calls to Janak in Bhavnagar to translate!) the homes of Tayob (my great-grandfather) and his brothers too.
Now I'm off to Mumbai for a brief 12 hour stopover before making my way to Hampi, then to Chennai on the 18th for my flight out of this terror prone country, to Thailand, another country in turmoil! I've picked them well!
That is all
(get it? pretending to give confession? no? ok, forget about it...)
So in the past month what has happened? If you've been following on Twitter you'll have some idea of what I've done/where I've been.
* arrived in Pushkar to meet 70 other couchsurfers from India and abroad, including Jaiprakash (JP) who I'd met in Kolkata 2 months earlier, and who'd invited me to come to Pushkar, and Rajasthan with him.
* participated in the Inaugural International Pushkar Fair Kabaddi match (as captain too!)
* interviewed on Rajasthani television after the match, and my photo appeared in two local newspapers
* travelled to Jaisalmer with JP and Austin (from Canada) on a bus with no windscreen, and almost misplaced a fellow passenger on route (unrelated to the missing windscreen)
* did a camel safari in Jaisalmer
* was spotted by an Australian friend who happened to be in Jaisalmer at the same time (neither of us knew each other would be in India)
* Jodhpur (saw the palace and a few other things)
* an overnight sleeper bus to Uidaipur on the bumpiest bus ride of my life. The window opposite us didn't close so Austin and I had to huddle together for warmth.
* Ahmedabad with Austin. Took in two ICL World Series matches (World vs. Bangaladesh, and India vs. Pakistan), and did an Auto-rickshaw tour. See my upcoming photos for more information
* Couchsurfed with Austin in Bhavnagar, and took in Alang, the ship destroying town. This was pretty incredible, as there are shops as you head towards the ocean, selling anything/everything from the ships. CD players, telephones, life jackets, glass, wood, generators, furniture, you-name-it.
* Palitana for the famous Jain temples on the hilltop. On the hike up (2 hours) met a couple from Delhi, who informed us of the Mumbai attack. Austin and I had tickets for the Live Earth concert on the 7th December, so we were planning to head there on the 3rd or 4th
* Palitana to Rapar/Lilpur to couchsurf again, and see Dholavira (a 4500 year old city)
* drunk "apple juice" (Austin's pseudonym for whiskey) in the dry (i.e. no alcohol) state of Gujarat on the highway passing through the salt plans of the Rann of Kutch.
* Headed to Bhuj (again) with Austin to do some family research (find my great grandfather's home)
* To Porbandar (where the Mumbai attackers boarded the fishing boat) which is 50km from Tarsai, my great-grandfather's village.
* took a taxi to Tarsai, and found (after much trouble finding an English speaker, and many phone calls to Janak in Bhavnagar to translate!) the homes of Tayob (my great-grandfather) and his brothers too.
Now I'm off to Mumbai for a brief 12 hour stopover before making my way to Hampi, then to Chennai on the 18th for my flight out of this terror prone country, to Thailand, another country in turmoil! I've picked them well!
That is all
posted by rumble at
Sunday, December 07, 2008
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