DesignAlive

My pictures have been published on the cover and from page 80 onwards in the design magazine DesignAlive - No5 2012/13. Out soon - get your copy now! The story publishes a series of photos from my time in Chandigarh, India - have a look at the original post here.

Photo: Nasz Maly Przyjaciel / D-zion

Photo: Nasz Maly Przyjaciel / D-zion

Photo: Nasz Maly Przyjaciel / D-zion

 

 

Jaipur - walking ATM and ancient Forts

My last stop in India and to be honest, I am ready to go now. I entered India in February the first time and came back after my stints in Bangladesh and Nepal. The second time I felt like a walking ATM and everyone wants to withdraw money. I am well used to it all but over time is wearing off on me. I shouldn't complain as I travelled around tourist central - Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra - but still everything seems to be a hassle. Once you convinced the rickshaw driver that you won't enter any shops or factories you enter the historic sites and suddenly every cleaning women wants to pose for pictures (and money), every guard wants to give you guided tours (for cash) and so on. I feel like a broken record and I can understand why they are doing it, but even though you take it with a smile, it is getting on your nerves. I was asked a couple of times if I am alone in India, my standard answer is "...you are never alone in India". Somebody wants something (mostly money) every time and privacy is a luxury of the Western world.

On the bright side Jaipur has some fantastic sites, the Amber Fort, the Pink City, the Jal Mahal and the Jaigarh Fort are the one I picked and I wasn't disappointed. The Amber Fort is the best maintained site I have experienced in India and it is just beautiful. Sitting in the midst of the desert on a hill top - only overlooked by the Jaigarh Fort - a full intact fort surrounded by high walls with all its gates, buildings, courtyards, gardens, harems... just imagine it hundreds of years ago.

Finally I am on my last Indian rickshaw to the airport and guess what, the driver tries to drop me at the terminal 2 rather than terminal 1 and plays dumm - just for some extra cash he would bring me to terminal 1. It couldn't be a better finale for India. Keep smiling and good bye India - I had a great time but I won't miss the rickshaw drivers - for sure.

Good bye my little rickshaws!

Palace in the lake - Jal Mahal

Entry to Amber Fort

Fully intact - the Amber Fort

One way to get there (for the tourists)

Only a dead pigeon is a good pigeon... full meal for the cats

...apparently not poisonous?

Jaigarh Fort above

Bollywood in Jaipur - singing and dancing with happy ending

Well I might not be in Bollywood's capital Mumbai but you can't go to India and not watching a Bollywood movie. It was crowded, very crowded and I had to get my ticket half a day earlier as 'Rowdy Rathore' is constantly booked out since it started 10 days ago. Just on the first weekend it made more than US$20 Million - considering that a ticket costs between $1 and $2 and that the entire production was less than $8 Millions it is a real blockbuster. I guess it is the sheer mass of people in this country. A guy started talking to me in the foyer and told me that India is giving birth to the entire population of Australia every year. Bollywood produces 900 movies a year to make them all happy. 

I was the only white face in the audience and some guys asked how I could understand the movie without speaking Hindi. Not a problem as they were hardly talking, but dancing and singing - or fighting with the bad boys. Every appearance of the heros received standing ovations. Besides that it was overly dramatic, long, loud, badly acted mixed with a simple (love) storyline. And of course the happy ending: Boy meets girl, boy meets bad boys, drama, drama, drama, tears, blood and the happy happy ending - in this case the girl adopts a child the boy finds and of course marries the boy. On the other hand the dance scenes were brilliant (if you like the music), the judges (if there would be any) would have said: "Great unison". Get 200 pretty ladies and teach them to wiggle their heads, to twist their arms and to shake their bums in their tight sarees in perfect unison like that - congratulations.

Most famous Movie Theatre in Jaipur: The Raj Mandir

Manlove? Hmm...not.

One thing in India which I can't get used to is the touchiness of man with man. First I thought this is gay men's paradise but no no no, it is for sure not. India is highly conservative with arranged marriages all around and only in July 2009 the High Court overruled the anti-homosexuality law which could penalize homosexuals with life in prison! I still don't feel 100% comfortable when you talk to your guest house manager and he suddenly puts his arm on your leg or around your shoulder as a sign of friendship. Relax I had to tell myself, it is not what you think. It is actually quite surprising. Public affections between girls and boys is a big taboo here, but nobody cares if two (hetero) men touch each other and hold hand like a loving couple. Something I have to get used to...

Quite a normal view - it is not what you think.

Delhi - Old and New

Once you are in the North, you won't get around Delhi. Delhi might has an excellent metro but otherwise it is the same chaos than in other Indian city. Smog, chaos, dust and currently extreme heat up to the mid forties. So not necessary the best temperatures for a city tour. In some sites like the Lotus Temple or the big Jama Masijd mosque visitors have to take off their shoes which makes the visit extremely fast as the marble/stone floors are so hot that you could fry an egg on them... or your feet.
If you have read your guidebook properly, you wouldn't have dismissed the warnings about the famous Delhi touts targeting travellers. By now we have all experienced them, no matter how long you have travelled in the region. Last night my rickshaw driver wanted to drop me at midnight in the middle of the Delhi highway after I refused his re-negotiations during the ride from the bus stop to the hotel. I guess it was wise to pay the extra dollar and not running around through the slums with all my gear in the middle of the night. Or there was the shoes cleaner who increased his agreed price from R20 to R650... you are getting used to it and deal with it. However, I met an American couple who has never travelled in Asia before and was on their way to see three countries in three weeks: India, Nepal and Thailand - quite a stiff program. So they went to Delhi train station and - of course - were approached by somebody telling them that the ticket office has burnt down and trains were not going anymore - the usual line is that the booking office is closed or that the trains are booked out. Surprise surprise he had a friend who was a taxi driver and who had time (which taxi driver in India doesn't have time for foreigners?) and they got this brilliant deal of only $200 for the drive in an old none a/c car to Agra... I told them that my luxury a/c bus was $6 for the ride and that for $200 in India you could probably ride once around the entire country... They were not happy about their first time in India - guess they learnt their lesson. Get over it.
more images

The usual chaos

Would you?

Lotus Temple

Red Fort

Jama Masijd - Delhi's Mosque

India Gate

Street food

Street life