i got really, really, really sick. basically i had every symptom in the book, short of hair loss. i thought i might die. ok, i didn’t really think i would, but it was scary. maybe it was the “aquafina” water that definitely tasted like it had come straight out of the ganges, or worse yet, the yamuna river. who knows. i prayed a lot and took some miracle drug, ciprofloxacin. thankfully now i’m doing much better, although i’m still nowhere near 100%. i was staying at this place in jaipur that was 20 degrees hotter than it was outside during the day, which was already pretty darn hot.
i foolishly decided to take a rickshaw to this fort nearby in amber. it was a climb and a half to get to the fort, and at the top i was basically delusional and completely messed up. i had to lay down in this shady area with the guards for a couple hours to get myself together for the trip back. then i just stayed in my hotel room. but the fort was pretty cool. i think.
the day prior i explored the old walled city of jaipur, the capital of rajasthan and home to three million people desperate to rip off a tourist. can’t blame them, there’s not much else to do in town. its a pretty crazy place – the bazaar area is absolutely huge and there is a separate street for every imaginable thing to purchase. also any camels, cows, monkeys… wandered around all morning looking for something to eat – remarkably not a single establishment around opened until 11 am. climbed this huge free-standing minaret in the middle of the city for a great view.
i went to an amazing structure called hawa mahal, or the palace of the winds. it is a huge facade that women used to hide behind to watch the world go by back in the dark ages when they weren’t allowed to be seen in public. a truly beautiful building. a rickshaw driver promised me a great rate for an extensive tour (20 cents). i now know that any time something sounds too good to be true in india it most certainly is. i knew that before but i must not have been thinking straight. it turns out the rate was contingent upon him taking me to all these overcharging textile factories where they pressure you to buy things and he as the driver who brought the tourist there gets a kickback. i don’t have room in my backpack for textiles. so we argued, and we argued, and we argued, and i ended up walking.
