First night in India

We're staying three nights at Amar Inn in Delhi while we wait for the rest of the group to arrive. In total there will be nine of us, plus our two guides, Jane and Bhooi, on Best Exotic Tours' trip through Rajasthan. 

Dinner, Chindian style

After an hour's rest from our travels, we had a 'Chindian' dinner last night. It was very fulfilling, though apparently the flavours were more Chinese than Indian. Chinese restaurants elsewhere in India tend to be more of a fusion with Indian flavours.

Bhooi also told us about a local custom: some places in India often leave a little food on the plate to signal they're stuffed and couldn't possibly eat another bite (even if they could). It's the opposite of our Western habit of cleaning the plate to be polite and avoid waste.

4am and wide awake

My body clock is still adjusting. I was asleep before 9pm last night and now I'm wide awake at 4am, hence this blog update 🙂

An evening stroll

We went for a short walk after dinner and I spotted a shop called Archie's, so of course I had to snap a photo for my Archie. I also noted the amazing maze of electrical wiring overhead!!!

Traffic surfing

Bhooi describes driving in India as "traffic surfing", and after my trip from the airport I get it. I landed at a similar time to Richard and Vicki, which meant arriving in peak traffic and being met by a driver. The trip to the hotel took 45-60 minutes and was nerve-racking. There were no lane markings and no indicating, just 4-5 lanes of traffic that were all actually moving, unlike Auckland, where it grinds to a standstill.

Scooters, tuk-tuks, cycles, trucks, buses, taxis and cars all shared the same space, and everyone was beeping. That was the funniest part, because the beeps rarely seemed to achieve anything. I sincerely wish I had taken a video of our driver 'parting the waters' through a flow of traffic that had no gaps. It was insane and completely appealed to me and what Cedric calls my crazy driving.

Back on the Blog After 18 Years: Greetings from Kuala Lumpur

If you're reading this, you have been roped into my solo mad adventure after 18 years!

I've decided to revive the old blog for this trip. I'm heading off on a big three-week adventure, and this way everyone who's interested can follow along without me answering a dozen separate messages. Consider this the group chat with fewer typos.

Kuala Lumpur was just a stopover on the way to the main event, a tour through Rajasthan in India with Best Exotic Tours. I broke the journey for a few days to shake off the worst of the jet lag.

Foot massage and a good cause

On my wanders I noticed lots of blind massage businesses. They provide work for people with visual impairments, and after a wonderful foot massage my feet were ready for the next leg of the trip.

Eating like a local

I always seek out local places to eat. Lunch was served on a banana leaf, a delicious mix of Malaysian and Indian flavours, and everyone around me ate with their hands. Everyone except me! 😂

Dinner, for Frankie

I'm sending this one for Frankie, who loves fish  will appreciate that a whole fish arrived at the table looking right back at me. That small little citrus fruit on the fish had so much juice I had to google it. I really want to plant one in my 'to be planted'  citrus grove. It is a Calamansi (Citrus microcarpa) native to the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Meet the locals

It was a sweltering 27 felt like 30 so of course I went for a wander- there are no real routes here so wandering often meant a footpath  might just end at the edge of a busy road with no obvious way to cross. 

At the botanical gardens I saw some large monitor lizards swimming in the lake- It looked like an alligator at first! 

I also spotted a small animal that I think is a common treeshrew. They live across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. It looked a little like a squirrel/stoat

Service with a smile

One thing that really struck me is how many people work in service roles here. Even the smallest hotel has a doorman! Perhaps lower wages make that possible, but it also means more families and communities are supported, which is quite different from NZ.

Next stop: Delhi. Stay tuned.

Ka kite,

Marea x