It may not seem like much of a first day challenge. But today I walked to the train station, caught a taxi to a museum and then came back by taxi via the market.
Walking along the streets is not easy. There are sometimes pavements, sort of, but they are not maintained and are mostly falling apart; and often taken over by street vendors and then you have to negotiate dogs and people sprawling asleep on the ground; the traffic is constant and noisy and when you step off the pavement it is dangerous. And there is excrement and rubbish, often piles of it, literally. Men often urinate quite freely into the gutter.
The station was heaving with Saturday travellers, all Indian, I did not see another white person there. As with any foreign country, the rail system is not easy to understand. Tickets have to be bought on line in advance or you queue for ever. I saw a train come in and it was full to to bursting in both third class and second. I couldn't see a first There were 16 carriages: the engine was fab enormous.
Getting a tuk-tuk is dangerous. Apparently drivers can kidnap you and take you to the family shop.. you cannot get away cheaply.. and worse. I was approached a dozen times by dodgy guys before I made eye contact. He looked ok. But he was not a driver; he was a 'guide' but took me to a friend who drove us. I insisted on just being taken to the museum. I told him where I wanted to go and made it very clear. He wanted me to book him for a whole day.. during the journey the guide showed me a reference letter from a previous client explaining how honest and hard working he was. Arrived ok.
The museum was the Albert Hall. It was a very big thing when Prince Albert visited Jaipur in the 1880's; they painted the city pink for him. Literally. This museum was opened and named for him. It was mildly interesting. Lots of people; including several children's school parties: they all dress in wonderful uniforms.
I walked up through the city gates (pink) and down Nehru bazaar (market) for about half a mile. Again, heaving with people. I so want to buy some gifts for Wendy. But it is impossible. And all around me was chaos, squalor, noise, traffic with horns constantly beeping. Add to that a temperature of pushing 40 degrees. St Albans market this is not. But it was captivating, fascinating and disgusting. I left the market road, went off-piste for fifty yards but turned back - it felt threatening and it was even filthier.
I woke a friendly tuk-tuk driver and asked him for Bani park.. he did not know where it was so I had to show him on the map. An incredibly bumpy, frantic, smelly, chaotic journey back that took 30 minutes and cost me 100 rupees.
Bliss being back in my maharajah suite. But he would have travelled to the bazaar by limousine with bodyguards.
Jaipur railway station display; I'm catching the 6.00am to Delhi on Tues
This may be a third world country. But everyone; everyone, has a mobile phone.. hundreds of millions of them. This arcade had about 100 phone shops.
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