Jaipur "The Pink City", Rajasthan is what the world thinks of India/ the middle east. Desert, old architecture, snake charmers, vendors lined up selling their wares, camels, colourful glittery clothing and the sunshine picking up on the dust flying through the air. Jaipur is known for all of its buildings being this sort of salmon/pink colour. When standing a couple of stories up, it looks pretty cool. It reminds me of that one scene in my all time favourite movie Aladdin, when Jasmine is walking through the street and all the wallah's are trying to interest her...I'd put a GIF of that part, but there isn't one. I looked.
We first went to a castle for Rajasthani royalty, which was cool. I suppose.
Then we went to the “Hawa Palace” (Hawa meaning wind) There was a bunch of astrological equipment made of stone and the worlds biggest sundial. It was pretty cool.
RK is originally some around here, so he took off for a bit, and we were led around by a local tour guide. He said that we are going to bring us to a special shop away from the tourist track, where we could find goods, for the "real" price, not the jacked up tourist price. We drive to somewhere still within the tourist track. We pull into a big warehouse where they have a bunch of different stuff. Sari's, salwaar suits, wooden Ganesh statues, stone elephants, snippets, knick-knacks - all of which are "exotic and othered".
We're walking through looking at the stuff and asking the prices. Hannah tells us that the sari's are poor quality and over priced. The stone elephant I bought in Mabahaliburam for 100rs. (Still overpriced) was 500rs. We found out quickly that this "shop away from the tourist track" was ALL A RUSE. I guess this tour guide does this often. Brings buses full of unknowing foreigners and makes them believe he's a good guy that you can trust. We all scuff and refuse his service, and leave the warehouse full of LIES. That left us to wait for a while alone on our bus waiting for RK to return. We timepassed with some paan, but last night's lack to sleep now catches up with us. Jordan and Chris call this "Sleep Debt".
Sleep Debt as defined by Chris Yoder:
The amount of sleep required to restore a circadian rhythm in its normal state after a period of sleep deprivation (Yoder, 2012).
In other words, we have to repay the debt of sleep somehow and some way. And if you don't pay your debt, then you pay with your health and get sick.
With timepass comes napping.
This is paan. Super delicious snack you get after a meal. They are said to "freshen your breath"
Our evening was spent at a commercially created "rural and traditional" Rajasthani village, which I felt mildly uncomfortable being in. This attraction has been made for in the tourist gaze. There are little stages all around where you can walk up and watch the traditional dance, where a young boy playing tabla sings you a song. Everything I have seen in Jaipur has been for western tourist to gaze in on the "primitive lifestyles of rural Indian life." It has been othered and therefore placed in a binary in which one lifestyle is better than the other, and made exotic - which I guess is another way of othering. I hate that I'm here, and I hate other people are here not knowing how their privilege works here.
All day I've been reflecting on how weird it is to be in Tourist India again. It's odd that the locals are not flabbergasted by my friends' fair skin. More people speak English - even the paan wallah can speak English. Even us, we see so many white people. Some wearing their overpriced kurti, other's wearing the Americanized MC Hammer pants. (They look something like the salwaar pants, except tailored to the Western taste. I can't lie, they are awesome) Others are those typical ball cap, fannypack wearing, camera around their neck, sunscreen on the nose, wants to eat something authentic and end up at McDonald's, Hindi with a TERRIBLE accent, if any at all speaking tourist.
We have been in India too long I think. We're going wild seeing so much white skin. The way we would call ourselves foreigners in order to mock those who feel compelled to remind us by screaming that terrible word at us, we are now doing less ironically when a gori gori passes us. In our group someone will yell "DEKHO! FOREIGNER!" And we all crane our necks to see them, then mouth-behind-hand laugh in nervous, embarrassed excitement.
I am almost ashamed that I am seeing all these tourist attractions - like I'm just a normal tourist, when I know I am so much more. It makes me sad is that the locals around me don't know that. These Indians, unlike the Nagpurian Indians, see me as some girl who looks kinda Indian and decided that India sounded like "A pretty chill place" and my friends and I just came here, knowing nothing about the complexities of this country.
There's just no pleasing me, eh?
Anyway, we're back to the hotel to zope. But for me, I try to sleep as little as possible. I’m with 12 amazing people for 25 days only. How could I waste even one moment? I count the days until I repay my debt with my health.
We first went to a castle for Rajasthani royalty, which was cool. I suppose.
Aaaannd snake charmer.
Then we went to the “Hawa Palace” (Hawa meaning wind) There was a bunch of astrological equipment made of stone and the worlds biggest sundial. It was pretty cool.
Olivia scarfin' it up
Other spiffy astrological business.
RK is originally some around here, so he took off for a bit, and we were led around by a local tour guide. He said that we are going to bring us to a special shop away from the tourist track, where we could find goods, for the "real" price, not the jacked up tourist price. We drive to somewhere still within the tourist track. We pull into a big warehouse where they have a bunch of different stuff. Sari's, salwaar suits, wooden Ganesh statues, stone elephants, snippets, knick-knacks - all of which are "exotic and othered".
We're walking through looking at the stuff and asking the prices. Hannah tells us that the sari's are poor quality and over priced. The stone elephant I bought in Mabahaliburam for 100rs. (Still overpriced) was 500rs. We found out quickly that this "shop away from the tourist track" was ALL A RUSE. I guess this tour guide does this often. Brings buses full of unknowing foreigners and makes them believe he's a good guy that you can trust. We all scuff and refuse his service, and leave the warehouse full of LIES. That left us to wait for a while alone on our bus waiting for RK to return. We timepassed with some paan, but last night's lack to sleep now catches up with us. Jordan and Chris call this "Sleep Debt".
Sleep Debt as defined by Chris Yoder:
The amount of sleep required to restore a circadian rhythm in its normal state after a period of sleep deprivation (Yoder, 2012).
In other words, we have to repay the debt of sleep somehow and some way. And if you don't pay your debt, then you pay with your health and get sick.
With timepass comes napping.
I'm not entirely sure what paan is. A bunch of different spices wrapped up in a banana leaf and a cherry is optional.
I'll just look it up on wikipedia now...
...that was a mistake. Apparently the "Areca Nut" and tobacco is in it which causes oral cancer and other mouth diseases....
...which explains why there are red tobacco spit marks all over India...
...
Ya know, Aafreen told me once that if a woman gets paan after dark, that means she's a prositute.
...
Embarrassing Pictures of Krish dancing. I accept this.
Khannna Time
It's impossible for me to just smile in a photo. It is.
All day I've been reflecting on how weird it is to be in Tourist India again. It's odd that the locals are not flabbergasted by my friends' fair skin. More people speak English - even the paan wallah can speak English. Even us, we see so many white people. Some wearing their overpriced kurti, other's wearing the Americanized MC Hammer pants. (They look something like the salwaar pants, except tailored to the Western taste. I can't lie, they are awesome) Others are those typical ball cap, fannypack wearing, camera around their neck, sunscreen on the nose, wants to eat something authentic and end up at McDonald's, Hindi with a TERRIBLE accent, if any at all speaking tourist.
We have been in India too long I think. We're going wild seeing so much white skin. The way we would call ourselves foreigners in order to mock those who feel compelled to remind us by screaming that terrible word at us, we are now doing less ironically when a gori gori passes us. In our group someone will yell "DEKHO! FOREIGNER!" And we all crane our necks to see them, then mouth-behind-hand laugh in nervous, embarrassed excitement.
I am almost ashamed that I am seeing all these tourist attractions - like I'm just a normal tourist, when I know I am so much more. It makes me sad is that the locals around me don't know that. These Indians, unlike the Nagpurian Indians, see me as some girl who looks kinda Indian and decided that India sounded like "A pretty chill place" and my friends and I just came here, knowing nothing about the complexities of this country.
There's just no pleasing me, eh?
Anyway, we're back to the hotel to zope. But for me, I try to sleep as little as possible. I’m with 12 amazing people for 25 days only. How could I waste even one moment? I count the days until I repay my debt with my health.
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