Thursday 21st March 2019 Although not part of the planning process, as we were in India for this festival of colour, we thought we should enter into the spirit of the celebration. Holi signifies “the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships”. Coloured powder is thrown in the air and smeared over people’s clothes and faces. Dancing and food are also vital. We bought white shirts from the shop in the hotel reception which seemed to be doing a roaring trade with a Chinese tour group. It took a few attempts to find a top which would fit Robert’s broad shoulders and the sizing was a mystery as Matilda’s top said 48 in the back and Robert’s said 38. We asked the hotel receptionist to take a “before” photo and headed out to the Dhulandi Festival. Some colours seem to be more adhesive than others . . . . . . and some are more long-lasting but . . . . . . there comes a point when they all merge together. Robert’s hair proved to be […]
Daily Archives: 21/03/2019
Wednesday 20th March 2019 Checking our berth allocation for the sleeper, we were extremely relieved to see we had both been assigned to the same compartment, albeit in a four berth cabin, for this journey. On boarding we found we were sharing with two Indian businessmen, both of whom had initially entered the adjacent compartment where some rather boisterous and giggly Chinese girls had already established themselves. Each, in turn, seemed relieved to find they would actually be sharing with us instead. In an ironic, yet somehow predictable, turn of events Indian Railways’ train number 19666 from Udaipur to Jaipur [the one train we would have appreciated being delayed as it would have allowed us to have a little more sleep] was running on time. Alarms were set for 05:20. We were awakened around midnight by hammering on the door. One of the other occupants just shouted, “Ignore it”, the other opened the door. There thus ensued 15 minutes of arguing amongst the various Indians about berth numbers. Eventually the ‘hammerer’ moved off to his second class air conditioned [2AC] bed having been defeated by those in first class [1AC]. We got ourselves up and ready to alight, on time […]