We have a lazy start today and a few more people have succumbed to Delhi belly to ensure we have suitable toilet talk at the breakfast table. Dinner the previous night had been delicious and I have decided to become vegetarian for this part of the trip, not for any ethical reasons and not because I believe it will save me from the dreaded lergy, but simply because nowhere else I have visited does vegetarian food so well, with such variety. Michele is suffering though. A full blooded Italian male, he loves the spice but is missing his animal protein.
We are not looking forward to the journey to Jodhpur and another long day on the bus. I think I have got the best seat in the house at the front but today I am happy to give it up to Bev, who is feeling very poorly bad. By the time we reach the first stop tho, I already have bruises on my knees from the seat in front.
After an hour of travelling, we pull up outside yet another temple. There had been a rumour that we would be visiting the Temple of Rats but I can see no rats as I jump off the bus and firmly hold the belief that it will be a Temple to the rat, with carvings and paintings of rats. How wrong I am. Outside we are told to take off our shoes before going in. Some of the group, including our leader, have decided to remain on the bus, but still I am ignorant. As we enter the courtyard, someone points to an opensided shack in the corner. There are rats on the railings, rats on the bails of hay, rats in the rafters, rats running across the courtyard, there are even rats lined up around a bowl of milk. Some of the girls are completely freaked out but we all manage to maintain our composure. Hindus are coming in with bowls of food and offerings for the rats and a small queue has formed between a set of rails leading into an inner temple. Suddenly a high pitched shriek goes up. Has here been a rat attack? Did this person have their rabies jab? Will we have to make an emergency dash to the nearest A&E for a life saving operation. No. Debbie has tickled Helen's foot whilst standing behind her in the queue.
After we have successfully restrained Helen from murdering Debbie, we climb back on the bus for the onward journey. Antiseptic wipes ensure we have clean feet and sandals but Helen will have to wash and scrub hers 4 times before she can get rid of the sensation of a rat scuttling over her toes.
Later, we pull into a small village and edge our way down a narrow street with scrub land on one side. Inside, we enter an oasis of calm and tranquility. Round a garden, dotted with covered tables and chairs and chair swings and bed swings are little huts. These will be our bedrooms for the night. Each has its own layout and decoration and we go round trying to decide who has the best room or bathroom. They are all delightful. The family who own the guest house are all there to welcome us along with the 3 family dogs. In the trees, which provide cool shade in the garden parakeets fly from one to the other and chipmunks run up and down like squirrels. .Or maybe they are squirrels. In a tree next door we count 6 monkeys and their baby watching us closely.
We are invited to help prepare dinner that evening and after a shower and a change, a few of us crowd into the kitchen to chop aubergines and okra, stir the masala and roll and fry our own chapatis. After the best dinner so far in India, we flop down on the mattresses and cushions laid out in a circle to catch up on the gossip of the day.
We are not looking forward to the journey to Jodhpur and another long day on the bus. I think I have got the best seat in the house at the front but today I am happy to give it up to Bev, who is feeling very poorly bad. By the time we reach the first stop tho, I already have bruises on my knees from the seat in front.
After an hour of travelling, we pull up outside yet another temple. There had been a rumour that we would be visiting the Temple of Rats but I can see no rats as I jump off the bus and firmly hold the belief that it will be a Temple to the rat, with carvings and paintings of rats. How wrong I am. Outside we are told to take off our shoes before going in. Some of the group, including our leader, have decided to remain on the bus, but still I am ignorant. As we enter the courtyard, someone points to an opensided shack in the corner. There are rats on the railings, rats on the bails of hay, rats in the rafters, rats running across the courtyard, there are even rats lined up around a bowl of milk. Some of the girls are completely freaked out but we all manage to maintain our composure. Hindus are coming in with bowls of food and offerings for the rats and a small queue has formed between a set of rails leading into an inner temple. Suddenly a high pitched shriek goes up. Has here been a rat attack? Did this person have their rabies jab? Will we have to make an emergency dash to the nearest A&E for a life saving operation. No. Debbie has tickled Helen's foot whilst standing behind her in the queue.
After we have successfully restrained Helen from murdering Debbie, we climb back on the bus for the onward journey. Antiseptic wipes ensure we have clean feet and sandals but Helen will have to wash and scrub hers 4 times before she can get rid of the sensation of a rat scuttling over her toes.
Later, we pull into a small village and edge our way down a narrow street with scrub land on one side. Inside, we enter an oasis of calm and tranquility. Round a garden, dotted with covered tables and chairs and chair swings and bed swings are little huts. These will be our bedrooms for the night. Each has its own layout and decoration and we go round trying to decide who has the best room or bathroom. They are all delightful. The family who own the guest house are all there to welcome us along with the 3 family dogs. In the trees, which provide cool shade in the garden parakeets fly from one to the other and chipmunks run up and down like squirrels. .Or maybe they are squirrels. In a tree next door we count 6 monkeys and their baby watching us closely.
We are invited to help prepare dinner that evening and after a shower and a change, a few of us crowd into the kitchen to chop aubergines and okra, stir the masala and roll and fry our own chapatis. After the best dinner so far in India, we flop down on the mattresses and cushions laid out in a circle to catch up on the gossip of the day.
RSS Feed
