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Other entries in Udaipur

Massage Indian style

Hello. I hope people are still reading this, 7 months is a long time to keep interested!

Things are going pretty well here in Raj country. My driver Narain is slightly starting to get on my nerves as we spend a lot of time together. It's a bit like travelling with an annoying friend-glad they are there so you are not alone, but difficult to ignore the fact that they annoy you! But I am trying hard with my new found maturity (hmm!) to get along, and if it gets too much I just go off alone. Well we have found one common interest though which is badminton! We bought some raquets in a very random shop and our new thing is to play for an hour each morning, just in the hotel garden or actually the last place had a court (no net) so that was very professional!! Well we arrived in Udaipur last night and I decided i wanted an indian style massage to soothe my badminton sore shoulders. No problem says Narain he knows a good place where it is a woman masseuse (good, no leery indian men), strong woman he tells me (she is quite fat) and we drive over to this random house to see this random woman. She takes me to a room, and she is really very good, and then she goes of to answer her phone (very relaxing for me obviously) so her daughter (i assume) comes and takes her place, then the oher woman comes back and they both started massaging!! quite an experience! the woman is very bossy though "your nose is very dry. do you not moisturise every day??? hmm???". I assure her i do, but i dont think she quite understood that i had been living out of a backpack for 7 months.

So anyway ever since we left Jodhpur the country has really changed which noone warned me about! no longer is it desert but beautiful rolling hills, often forest covered. Much more lush and green, and for the first time it started to rain. In fact the day we left Jodhpur it had rained all night and the entire city was flooded it was mad!! children playing in the road/river and people on scooters trying to move through puddles waist high. we got stuck in a very long traffic jam of course, though people dont really queue they mostly just jump round each other whenever they can, often ending up with 3 or 4 lanes and people just sit and honk their horns. Narain himself has some very indian driving habits, a very big fan of his horn, he also shouts at people out of the window and then mutters (swear wrds i assume) in hindi. One habit i dont approve of is that rubbish is just thrown out of the window withut a second thought. i have to tell him i will take it and put it in the bin in my room.

Right second stage of the plan is underway, my indian clothes are currently being made round the corner and i will pick them up tonight. shud be interesting!! really nice colour though.

good job i like chai tea because whever you go it is given to you, everywhere, shops, internet, tailors, massage. indian food is still good, though curry twice a day is maybe getting a bit much.

Hotels are good and i feel safe. It is much cooler here which is good news!

I have turned into one of those annoying lone travellers who seeks out other travellers to talk to and then doesnt shut up (in order to gain some normality.) I especially like tourist sites-palaces, temples-lots of prey ha ha ha.

Lots of love, hope you are all well,

Jen xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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