Jase and Shaz Go to India: Day 5

The trip takes approximately 5 – 6 hours in the car. The first 4 pass quickly enough but the last 2 DRAG. Probably because we don’t understand any of the road signs and we cannot determine how far there is still to go.

When we start this morning at 7:30am it is about 6 degrees and there is a heavy mist enveloping the city. We (or more importantly the driver) can only see few meters in front us. Every one drives with their hazard lights on (If they have any) . Total craziness . . . .

It was very misty in the car it took us a few attempts to get the driver to see that the A/C button will help increase his vision . . . let alone ours . . we were very tense sitting in a car with misted up windows!! We think he sees that as a magic button from now on . . Spread the word driver!!!

Trucks, motor bikes, autos you name it, weave around us, between us, at us. The driver takes it all in his stride and just keeps tootling along. His English is not great, but he knows how to drive and he knows where the hazard lights and the brakes are, so really, what more could we ask for.

The mist remains heavy till well after lunch. We stop into a roadside café and gift shop about 3 hours in. There is nothing of note there expect a toilet of some description and some over priced toilet paper(which you have to barter for) and some nick nacks.
We are not even game enough to try the coffee which is basically some possibly boiled water and a jar of Nescafé. We have also decided that India is the place where all the chips in the world come to die. Everything we see on the shelves ranges from 2 months to 2 years out of date.

The scenery changes after lunch and becomes a lot more rural.. we are still being passed by a lot of large and heavily decorated trucks, but now we are also passing Camels pulling cards and occasionally slowing down to divert around cows of various sizes and shapes. There is also the occasional pod of a hundred or so monkeys which sit around the place.

We finally reach the outskirts of Jaipur (which we soon realize looks very similar to the inner city Jaipur) with the main difference being the amount of people and the increasing traffic. Our driver takes us past the major sites, up a look out (now we are passing Elephants in the street) and points out some points of interest. He also drives us through the main market (twice) and it is about this time we realize he has NFI about where the hotel is. We pull over and ask for some directions and one block (about 20 minutes later) we are there. We joke to each other that we are never leaving the hotel! The last hour has been quite challenging including seeing what we are fairly sure was a dead body lying on a traffic island not too far from our front door.

As we leave the car and head through the security gates to enter the building, the liveried guard trumpets our arrival and bows. Literally trumpets that is. A huge horn that bellows, followed by a bow and a wish of Merry Christmas. Our check in is slowed by finding out they have put us in a room with two single beds. Once that is sorted and we are upgraded to the royal suite , we settle in comfortably.

Actually we are still in the room. We settled in so comfortably, I am yet to leave the room. The room is double glazed and for the first time since leaving my house , we are in silence. Its amazing and wonderful.