Readers of this blog from the beginning will remember (or may not, it's been thousands of words and you are to be commended), that I was initially enticed by the naan wallah in Saratoga to board the Palace on Wheels (POW). So here we are. Each car has 4 staterooms, as Max mentioned. I meet the guys from 2 of the other staterooms on the station platform B4 we leave. They're having a cigar. One is John Kennedy, the recently retired CEO of Johnson Controls, the other, his buddy Bill Cannon, a corporate lawyer, both from Milwaukee. Both are great guys and will show their common concern for their fellow travelers later in the trip in dramatic form (this is called a teaser, to encourage continued viewership of this channel).
In the bar car, we sit beside Ian from Glasgow. I mention my mother's town of Airdrie and he knows it well. He reminds me of several Scots I know, white-haired and full of life, always joking. We move on to the Maharani Dining Car (the other is the [wait for it] Maharajah Dining Car) and are seated next to an elderly (more elderly than us, anyway) (I'm really enjoying the parentheses thing 2nite) couple. They live in California, but he was brought up in Greenwich NY, a town Max taught in for 2 years. The coincidences will continue throughout the trip, as I discover 2 more Tuckers ON OUR BUS the next day.
It's Thursday, the 8th of February and that means it's Jaipur Day, the Pink City. During the night, we have traveled into the Thar Desert, where we'll be spending the next 6 days exploring Rajasthan, one of the most interesting and colourful areas of India. This was the region once ruled by the Rajput Princes, who built breathtaking forts and palaces.
Today we will see one of each. The Hawa Mahal, or Palace of Winds (see photo) is a magnificent structure that is a tiered 5 story edifice of balconies and perforated stone screens, but only about 10 feet deep and with walls only 8" thick. It was built to allow the harem ladies, in purdah, to observe the goings-on in the street below without themselves being seen.
Personalities begin to emerge from the people on our bus. The Blob Sisters are two females who are gravity-rich entities encased in clothing by Omar the Tent Maker and topped with baseball caps. During the trip they will refuse to climb any stairs taller than Mickey Rooney, and will constantly request climate changes in the bus that are contrary to those desired by everyone else. To their credit, they will work hard to maintain the image of the Ugly American, a heritage we are all proud of. We also have Dr. No, an elderly psychiatrist who is constantly negative and verbally abuses his psychiatrist wife at length during the trip. They both need counseling.
At the Amber Fort, the Blob Sisters actually throw themselves onto the back of an unfortunate elephant for the ride up to the Fort. Dr.No is right behind us, muttering about how he wishes he were back in Texas. We all silently concur.
The elephant ride is a hoot, and the view of the fort and the environs is spectacular during the 20 minute ride. The stone work in the various courtyards astounds us, but we'll be seeing much more of this in the next few days. The fort is interesting, and although some people who have taken this trip are bored with the many forts and castles they are taken to, in retrospect each was unique and beautiful in its own style and history.
We're taken to a fabric emporium, but Max is 'way ahead of this game, and we spend our time on the street while the others shop. We see a school out for recess, the kids in their uniforms, a pig rooting for garbage scraps just out side the school door. A few feet away is a lean-to of sorts, some tarpaulin stretched over a fence and a couple of poles, with a family living inside.
Later that evening, we have dinner with Neil and Sareena, a gorgeous young couple from Manhattan who work for Goldman Sachs. Sareena was brought up in Paris and gets us up to speed on the upcoming French elections. She says the woman candidate is a whack job.
One of the criticisms I came across in my research into the POW, was that for $750/day/couple, it was expensive. If you wanted to see Rajasthan, they said, rent a car and driver for $12/day and stay in expensive hotels and eat in expensive restaurants and save money. Except, you have to assume you will find a reliable driver and guide with a reliable car who will reliably take you where you want to go, not where they want to take you. You have to assume you won't mind the hours of driving through the desert on questionable roads, meaning you will take several more days of unholy discomfort to cover the same route we did. You have to assume you won't be cheated in many ways, as you work to arrange your schedule, your entry fees to the various sites, your lodging and meals - everything will be a gamble. India is not an easy gig.
But tomorrow, we'll be within rocket-launched-grenade distance from Pakistan. In Jaisalmer, the Golden City. Stay tuned for the Great Camel Adventure.
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