Udaipur: We planned to stay for a couple of days and instead stayed for 9... c'est la vie. We arrived to a city which was dressed up for a party: walls freshly painted, tinsel strung across the streets, bright colours painted in beautiful patterns on doorsteps and little delicate candles lit in tiny crevaces. And the firecracker shops were doing a roaring trade! Diwali had arrived in India and it was exciting! We had wonderful city experts, Stephan (the German) and Jarka ('born to entertain' from London) who generously showed us a fantastic time. We visited the local fair which reminded me of the Easter show: rides, hundreds of people, entertainment, food and animals... only the rides barely had any safety procedures and ran from huge generators chugging black smoke, the huge crowds kinda looked at us like we were the clowns, the entertainment was a stage in the distance with a young Bollywood starlet gyrating to a boppy song, and the animals were just roaming around as animals in India do. We watched the hours of spectacular fireworks over the lake and palace from the rooftop restaurants whilst kids in the streets aimed fireworks att passer-by's and animals... it really was magical to watch hours of fireworks (one of my favourite things) bursting above a fairy-lit palace and reflected in a lake. Whilst all this was happening Mendo and I managed to catch a cold, hence the 9 days. We also squeezed in art lessons by a young local artist - Mendo mastered Sketching and I practised Oil Painting.

Jodhpur via Ranakpur: After a while in one place we get a little itch that needs to be scratched - riding the open road with Shepa... so off we went to Ranakpur, which was supposed to be a lovely, straight-forward drive. Of course that's not how it worked, so after navigating hours of road-works (nothing like Australian road-works), we found we were lost - or at least not where we were supposed to be. After asking numerous locals along the way we managed to do a big circle to get back to Ranakpur and found a reasonable hotel near the large, highly detailed temple. Indian's have a saying - perhaps its reserved only for tourists, I'm not sure: "Same, same but different". Most towns have large, beautiful temples (and/or Forts and palaces) and it's difficult to get excited now about seeing another one. The one in Ranakpur was beautifully carved wherever you look, with bright green parrots and little squirrels scurrying along eating the offerings. We then headed off to Jodhpur, the blue city. In Jodhpur we were escorted into a Guest House by an ex-model. Typically Indian with the big greasy hair and groomed moustache. He had made little photographs of himself in a 'sophistocated' position and printed the Guest House details on it as advertising - how could we resist! Overlooking the blue city like a magestic but dominating guardian is a large fort on a hilltop - I'm sure it was formidable in it's day. The people in Jodhpur were friendly and used to having many tourists around - we walked the local markets, drank Saffron lassi and nibbled on freshly cooked vegetable pakora: yummy.

Bikaner: We wanted to experience the real desert of Rajasthan without the tourists, but we didn't have time to get to Jaisalmer... we needed to be in Pushkar for the 23rd to meet with Ali and Geoffrey, so only had a couple of days. Hence we decided on Bikaner because not only was it far out in the desert, it wasn't as touristy as Jaisalmer and it had the Rat Temple. On Shepa that morning it was freezing! We looked like we should have been mountain-climbing rather than motorbiking in the desert... and what a strange desert! Silly, naive me should have realised that it was nothing like the Australian desert, but instead a browny/sandy colour with lots of scrub and trees dotted about the place. The mud huts we passed by were shaped differently to the ones we've seen before - more rounded and smaller. We started to overtake Camel carts with men sitting under brightly coloured turbons. When we saw a few sand-dune type formations we knew we were now in the desert. We took a few hours to get from Jodhpur to Bikaner and after a while, as a passenger it gets a bit boring. I start to think about family and friends (and a tear rolls down my cheek), good times we've all had, what our new life in Spain will be like, what I should buy dad for Christmas etc... then I snap out of it and realise that I'm travelling in the middle of India and I'm surrounded by a beautiful desert which I should be taking notice of! Mendo says he does the same thing - notices thoughts of the past and future when in fact he should be fully aware of the present (because it's a gift!). Anyway we reached the Rat Temple just south of Bikaner and took turns to explore it so that one person stayed with Shepa and our luggage. At this temple Hindu's believe that Story-tellers are reincarnated as rats, and so they come here to pay their respects to hundreds of rats scampering around a temple. Around Rajasthan people catch their rats in cages from their homes and bring them to this temple. I had pet mice when I was young so it wasn't a problem for me, but for others, to have big fat dirty rats run over your feet wasn't a pleasant experience. We agreed that the best word to sum it up was: bizarre. So on to the town of Bikaner, staying at a family run guest house on the outskirts of town where lazy camels and their persistant drivers ramble past. We explored the local fort, impressed that they had excellent conservation measures in place, interesting exhibitions and a compulsory guide who told little stories along the way. When we returned to the guest house we booked in for a day and a half Camel Safari, hoping that it would be less touristy than the ones we'd heard about in Jaisalmer. So the next day we set off with 4 camels, 2 carts, 4 camel men and a lovely couple who drove overland from England and were on their way to settle in Kerala for a few years. A very interesting thing about this couple is that they brought with them 3 very large Dalmation dogs... who also came on the Camel Safari! Luckily Mendo and I are dog people, so having a large dog jumping on us was great - the camels weren't into it so much though. Brian and Pennie kept them under control very well and it certainly gave the expedition another dimension. From our highly uncomfortable, lofty position upon the camels we saw Antelope, Jackals, Eagles, Donkeys, Cows, Sheep, Goats, a little weasel type thing and cuddling Indians. Yep, our camel drivers loved a good snuggle and weren't shy about a little spooning or whispering sweet nothings... maybe it was the motion of the camels or the crisp stars which we slept under - it was quite magical. The desert itself was certainly not sand-dunes (I believe they're found further West), but browny/yellowy hues with lots of little bushes covering it. At sunset and sunrise the bright, assaulting colours became more subdued and the palette was smokey and pastels - beautiful. We ate very well and retired early for a cozy night under a blanket of bright stars. The next day we slowly returned to Bikaner through a couple of small villages when turboned men stood staring and shy sari-clad women went about their many daily chores like robots. Our cook/safari man, Halphool (pronounced half-full and yes, he was very positive) told us that camels live for roughly 25 years. They work for 24 years, then when they're too old to work they are let loose in the desert where they usually die quite quickly because they can't fend for themselves since they've been captive their whole lives. Oh and Camels only spit when they're in mating season (mid November). That night in the guest house we sat with 3 other Australians and had funny discussions which only Aussies would understand... I even gave 1 of them my Column 8 book I'd finished (thanks mumsy!).

Kolayat and Nagaur: I read in the bible (Lonely Planet) that just like Pushkar, Kolayat has a mela (large gathering) every year, but it's not for camels - it's for Sadhu's (holy men). Two of the Aussies in Bikaner read the bible description of 'stoned Sadhu's' and thought they must be stone statues of Sadhu's... however we knew better and since Kolayat was an hour and a half drive away from Bikaner, we decided we would visit it on our way to Pushkar. After a nice morning drive through the desert we arrived close to 9am, when the market was just being set up and there were a few Sadhu's bathing in the lake. We could see that this wasn't a touristy town and most people stared at us like aliens, even though Mendo had dredlocks, just like a Sadhu. We parked Shepa next to the lake and left the local Chai Wallah in charge of our luggage. The Sadhu's set up camp along the edge of the walk around the lake and every few paces there's a different Sadhu with a little Hindu shrine he's made and often a little fire he's getting warmth from. He's got dredlocks, often piled in a bun/turbon on his head, he's smoking a chillum pipe, has blood-shot eyes and a painted face and body. I assume he will pray for you if you give him an offering or flowers, puffed rice, suger balls or money. He will let you take a photo of him in a yogi pose and will sometimes demand money for it. We visited the Hindu temple where a Sadhu hugged me (very unusual). We slowly walked back, dodging holy cows, admiring the polluted but beautiful lake and surrounding ancient architecture of the haveli's (houses). We then got directions from a few locals and set of, cross-country to Nagaur. There were a few hairy moments when the 'road' was covered with sand, but even when I was off pushing Mendo and Shepa through the sand it felt like a great adventure. Even here, in the middle of the desert on a very small back road we were never alone - this seems to be the way in India, never alone... and so we arrived in Nagaur for lunchtime with the afternoon free to explore the local fort and palace. A formal uniformed guide showed us around and explained the amazing water recycling palace. At times it was hard to concentrate on the stories he told because he had unbelievably hairy ears, like his eyebrows went on holidays there and had settled and populated. Like we had previously experienced, this palace was being restored because it was destined to become a hotel... and what a hotel it will be! Mendo says it was his favourite palace so far because it was very spread-out and it had a lot of water throughout it, including a large pond where the Maharaja had an island to sit and watch the dancing ladies, and even a canal through his bedroom and palace to keep the place cooled. He also recycled all the washing water (from his many queens) to water his extensive garden... what a champion. Later that night Mendo sat down to a lovely shave (60c) whilst I chatted to a local man who had studied for 2 years to become a Scientist, but 'life circumstances' (with a sad and serious face) made him quit and find work immediately - he had been a sign painter ever since and everyone crowding in the door of the barber were more surprised that he was speaking English than the fact that there were 2 gora's (foreigners) in their small town. I wonder what 'life circumstances' were which led him to this different life and which put a tone of regret and sadness in his voice...

Pushkar: We arrived in Pushkar stunned at the masses and stressed to be driving a motorbike through a very tight, large crowd. After a few hotel issues we settled to eagerly await the arrival of Ali and Geoffrey. What a thrill! To see my beautiful life-long friend atop a cart smiling up at me in the middle of India. When we were young and writing letters to each other between New Zealand and Australia we used to dream of travelling together. And now it is reality. It seems like quite a few cities in India are Holy and Pushkar is certainly one of them. There were many many many people here on Pilgrimages, doing Puja on the green, slimy lake, taking bottles of it back to their small villages in the extremely crowded buses, getting blessed by the holy men occupying the ghats. We were warned about some of the holy men - they just want the money foreigners will pay for a puja experience, they are forceful and even mean... well one got me, despite my best efforts to get out of it. He pushed a flower in my hand and said that I had to now go to throw it in the lake and pray for my family and friends and make a large donation. When I said 'nahi dundywad' (no thankyou in Hindi), he yelled 'go away then!' 'get off the lake!' luckily a nice local man came to my rescue (not my husband who was watching from afar) who took me down to the lake, let go of the flower with me and escorted me away from the scary holy men. He told me that they weren't holy men but just wanted to make money so they could go buy alcohol... how lovely. I should also mention that on this 'holy lake' the only sign/advertisement is a huge red billboard for vodafone - disgusting disrespect for a holy place (please consider changing if you are with them). Anyway we stayed in a nice but run-down hotel near the lake. It was nestled behind 2 lovely fields of roses so that when we walked past we could smell the beautiful scarlet petals and their scent wafting through our minds. With a bit of effort we received a package from Mendo's parents - safety gear for wearing when on Shepa. Thankyou so much Trini and Marco, we really appreciate it and feel very very safe. Another highlight of Pushkar was a sunrise walk up a nearby mountain to a nice temple. More interesting was the walk back to town after the sun had risen as many Indians made their pilgrimage at this time.

Bundi: Well here we are in Bundi, really loving this small little town. Outside there is a whole brass band clanging away which is making it very difficult to update the blog until the present moment. It's wedding season and these bands crash and clang around town until the wee small hours, celebrating the groom on the white horse who rarely smiles. Bundi is lovely - the streets are full of hustle and bustle, fresh veg markets, chai wallah's, bright and cheery sari sellers (all these people smile cheerily and wave 'namaste' as we walk past)... then there's the actual houses (Haveli's) lining the streets which are painted in beautiful colours (mostly hues of blue) and which I'm guessing hide away a lot of the women (as there's not many in the streets). Then there's the rooftop - this is where all the fun action is! Kids and big kids (adults like me) making little strange actions in the air, with their sparkly eyes pointed to the sky and a concentrating, pleasurable smile on their faces... they're all kite-flying! With little red-bummed monkeys watching, heaps of people are on their roofs flying the simple little diamond shaped kite. The kites which are made of old advertisments or wrappings from products (washing powder, soft drinks etc) dart and dance as their almost invisable strings are tugged. We think we'll stay another day, then head south to try to be near Goa for Christmas in 3 weeks with Ali and Geoffrey. Love to all, hope you're happy and healthy like Mendo and me. I'm reminded every day not to take myself too seriously, as Indians have a little giggle at us as we walk or drive by. And may I suggest that you try not to take each other for granted - every second is precious, so show your appreciation, love, happiness etc.

Miss you all ferociously! Love Nic and Mendo.