Happy holidays from Jaipur or as it's also known, The Pink City. I'm having a difficult time seeing the 'pink', it's more like a red or terracotta in most places. It's actually rather difficult to see much here as the pollution is rather thick most of the day. After Jodhpur and Udaipur, Jaipur feels really big and I guess it would with its 3.2 million people, who are all driving and honking their horns at the same time. I'd have to say that it's been my least favourite of my three Rajasthan stops. It's very busy and hectic and the hassle factor here is really high. Not only is every shop clerk jumping out at you to sell you something, the bicycle rickshaw drivers aim right for you when they come at you, just to see if you are paying attention or not. It's not a pleasant experience having one of them come straight for you in the middle of a really busy street.
It's been an interesting Christmas here. I've seen a few Santa hats bobbing along and my hotel has a rather sorry looking christmas tree outside the front door. Kind of strange as most of the guests at this hotel are Indian and I'm assuming most are Hindi and wouldn't celebrate the holidays. Once again the majority of foreigners have disappeared and there's not a lot around. I think most have headed south for Goa or Kerala to party on the beach with the package holidayers from Europe. There's been lots of talk with how few foreigners are visiting India this season. Apparently there's not many here this year and there's been a few theories why. Either people still have the Mumbai bombings fresh in their memories, their worried about instability with India's neighbours or they just don't have the money to spend and are just staying closer to home.
Well, one more day in Rajasthan and then I am off to visit Mother Theresa's neighbourhood and Calcutta and will bring in the new year there. Happy Holidays!
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