having heard mix reviews of the rail system in india i had already formed a picture in my mind what to expect on arrival at the station - an overcrowded, dirty, uncomfortable carriage. this was a daunting image as we were very aware that we would be spending a decent amount of time on the train (aprox. 17 hours) and so were preparing for the worst. surprisingly the train was quite the opposite of my thoughts not unlike trains i had been on in other asian countrys (eg thailand). it had large compartments seating 6 people, 3 on either side facing each other, with fold out beds above the main seating. our 17 hour train ride turned out to be an extremely confortorble and enjoyable experiance. not long after getting seated we got chatting to a local man who was sitting across from us. we talked about alot of different things and told him all about australia and australian life in exchange for information about india.
on arrival in jaisalmer we herded ourselves out of the station and into two large four wheel drives which drove us into the city and up into the fort where we would be staying. the windows were super low in the car which made it almost impossible to see anything without straining a neck muscle. when the engine stopped and we stepped out into the beautiful fort we were in awe. the amazing buildings surrounding us were all made from yellow sandstone with intricate carvings adorning the rock. as we began to make out way to the guesthouse we walked through small ally ways with many doors on either side leading into various abodes. all the buildings here were made of yellow sandstone (hence the name the golden city) most of which was cut and carved by hand. it wasnt long before we stumbled across one of indias most famous and revered animals. comfortably seated directly in the middle of one of the small walkways in front of us was a large healthy looking cow. our approach didn't seem to bother it at all and we had to go out of our way and walk up along a small ledge to move around it. this cow was the first of many many more and i soon realized why the animal hadn't moved for us - these cows run this town :P. being sacred animals in india preventing them from being eaten or harmed they had a very strong sense of entitlement and seem to roam the streets as they please doing whatever they please! more often than not they can be found walking or sleeping in the middle of busy roads with the traffic having to swerve and move around them with no apparent affect on the cow whatsoever.
our next stop was jodhpur, a large bustling city not unlike the capital delhi. not meaning to sound critical in any way but this place was most probably my least favorite so far. this could be due to the fact that we spent very little time in the city (about a day) so i didn't really get to see alot or maybe because it was by far the most polluted place we'd been and breathing the air felt like inhaling glue orrr maybe because our fellow travellers had a encounter with a very unplesent man (probs to inappropriate to write about what happened.. if that gives you any clues as to what happened :P). despite saying all that the main attraction of the city, a fort high atop a local hill, was actually quite stunning! there seem to be alot of forts here in india and all are very elaborately constructed with many beautiful carvings and paintings decorating the walls throughout.
sorry for the increasingly brief descriptions of whats going on here! im finding it alot harder than expected to keep up my blog entrys :// but im still trying! i still have to catch up on 3 more places that we ve been buuttt my internet time has almost run out :P ill do it as soon as i can! ohh and tomorrow at 5 am we re going to see the taj mahal!!! thought that was worth mentioning haha
on arrival in jaisalmer we herded ourselves out of the station and into two large four wheel drives which drove us into the city and up into the fort where we would be staying. the windows were super low in the car which made it almost impossible to see anything without straining a neck muscle. when the engine stopped and we stepped out into the beautiful fort we were in awe. the amazing buildings surrounding us were all made from yellow sandstone with intricate carvings adorning the rock. as we began to make out way to the guesthouse we walked through small ally ways with many doors on either side leading into various abodes. all the buildings here were made of yellow sandstone (hence the name the golden city) most of which was cut and carved by hand. it wasnt long before we stumbled across one of indias most famous and revered animals. comfortably seated directly in the middle of one of the small walkways in front of us was a large healthy looking cow. our approach didn't seem to bother it at all and we had to go out of our way and walk up along a small ledge to move around it. this cow was the first of many many more and i soon realized why the animal hadn't moved for us - these cows run this town :P. being sacred animals in india preventing them from being eaten or harmed they had a very strong sense of entitlement and seem to roam the streets as they please doing whatever they please! more often than not they can be found walking or sleeping in the middle of busy roads with the traffic having to swerve and move around them with no apparent affect on the cow whatsoever.
our next stop was jodhpur, a large bustling city not unlike the capital delhi. not meaning to sound critical in any way but this place was most probably my least favorite so far. this could be due to the fact that we spent very little time in the city (about a day) so i didn't really get to see alot or maybe because it was by far the most polluted place we'd been and breathing the air felt like inhaling glue orrr maybe because our fellow travellers had a encounter with a very unplesent man (probs to inappropriate to write about what happened.. if that gives you any clues as to what happened :P). despite saying all that the main attraction of the city, a fort high atop a local hill, was actually quite stunning! there seem to be alot of forts here in india and all are very elaborately constructed with many beautiful carvings and paintings decorating the walls throughout.
sorry for the increasingly brief descriptions of whats going on here! im finding it alot harder than expected to keep up my blog entrys :// but im still trying! i still have to catch up on 3 more places that we ve been buuttt my internet time has almost run out :P ill do it as soon as i can! ohh and tomorrow at 5 am we re going to see the taj mahal!!! thought that was worth mentioning haha
