Goa and onto Rajastan

Goa
The last few weeks havn't been particularly tiresome. After arriving into Goa a few days before my cousin I opted to head to Paolim which is one of the last remaining backpacker places in Goa. Securing a prime beach resort I awaited the arriving of Dan eagerly as I havn't seen him in 6 months and as his leaving for Dubai soon I won't get a chance to see him until August.

We spent a week on the beach doing not a great deal. Aside from dolphin watching and a rather amusing house hunt excursion I spent the week being lazy which was good fun! Have to say tho that a beach can become a bit boring after a week or so. I don't know how people spending weeks/months on a beach as I would become seriously bored!

After Dan left I found myself in a bit of a dilema. Although I wanted to head to the ancient city of Hampi ten hours away all transport was fully booked. Plus my friends are now arriving into Nepal two weeks earlier than planned cutting my time in India down considerably. So I felt it was better to head to the north to the desert state of Rajastan which I have always wanted to visit whilst I still could.

Indian Train journey's
The Indian railway system is the 2nd largest in the world and the world's largest employer with some 1.6 million workers. When you travel on it it quickly becomes apparent why this is the situation. To say the railways are complicated and difficult to understand is one hell of an understatement. There are 6 or 7 different classes ranging from top 1st class (1AC) through to wooden benchs crammed with people, animals and all manner of things which I think is termed 3rd class but barely seems to be any class.

At this time of the year the trains are heavily booked with people telling me 'oh you have no chance of getting on that train'. So I took it upon myself to 'test' this theory. Arriving into the station early I went to the counter and was promptly told to go to another one. Then another one and finally another one until I found myself taking to a suprinsingly nice member of staff.

'No sir afraid we are full, you will have to travel 3rd class sir'
Images of me sitting on a wooden bench for nearly 40 hours didn't sound particularly appealing
'Can you try and get me a 2nd class or 1st class birth anywhere on the route' I asked smilling and wiggling my head side to side Indian style.
The man grinned as I handed him over a few notes and smilled.
'OK sir one moment I shall see what I can do' he told me before disspearing into the back of the office. I began to feel confident I could get something and besides anything was better than 3rd class!
After five minutes he returned 'I have a 2AC birth for you from Panvel ten hours down the route'

Well OK so I didn't know where Panvel was, hell didn't know what state it was in, but this was an improvement. Of course at a cost 15 times 3rd class it wasn't cheap but then for 30 pounds I couldn't really complain!

The moral to the story is anything is possible with the trains in India and they are never full no matter how many times you are told they are. But then its amazing what a little bit of backshesh will get you in India!

Rajastan
Rajastan is a state which evokes many stong images. Known as the desert state it has been long famous for its location on the silk route, rich Arabian style princes and long battles between the Hindu's and Muslims. With some of the most magical sights in the country is has been on the pilgrimage trail of many backpackers for years, especially the British who are lured by its rich colonial history.

Jaipur
The city of Jaipur is the capital of the state and is known as the 'pink city' as that's the colour of the buildings in the old city quarter. It's the 3rd city in the great 'Cultural Triangle' of India (along with Delhi and Agra both of which I visited years ago). Walking round the city its very well laid out and hard to get lost in. But then as you are continually harassed by tuk-tuk and rickshaw drivers you slowly begin to lose any desire to keep seeing the place.

The Palace in the heart of the old city is the main attraction. The architecture is absolutely stunning with great old buildings coloured in pink towering above you are you enter the gates. Indians dressed in traditional Raj uniforms quide you around. Stepping into the complex is like stepping back 100 years to the time of the British Raj. This feeling is heightened by the pictures in the museum of the Raj Princes dressed in British costumes and images from the time of the British Raj.

Elsewhere in the city walking down the closely-packed backroads provides a feeling of what the city must have been like in the past. Many of the buildings appear to be in a state of decay and yet they all seem to have a clean wash of pink paint. This imagy coupled together with lazy cows walking down the streets and monkeys playing in the temples provides an amazing city to visit.