19th June 1992 Day 335

The Diary

11 months since leaving home. An awful nights sleep as it was very hot and we didn't have an air cooler. Up before 6 for breakfast and then a not very leisurely stroll to the bus station for a bus I was convinced we'd miss because we didn't know where it was going from. It turned up and sat in front of us were Graham & <someone whose name is lost in the mists of time> from Hartlepool & Leeds. They'd passed through our mud hut the previous evening and were in the last week of a 9 month trip round the world. Their first taste of Indian buses was not good as the bus had very little leg room and was a 5 seats across bus. It also rapidly became the most crowded bus we'd travelled on in India. I had the misfortune to have a heavy steel case fall on my head as the bus lurched from side to side. Not a word of apology from anyone although someone asked "any blood?" and Oz had to stop them putting the case back up above us.

Amazingly the bus made it to Jodhpur in 5 1/2 hours and we walked to the Tourist Bungalow, had a snack and chatted to our 2 English friends. They left to try & get on a train to Delhi and we crashed out. Later on we tried to reserve a seat on the train to Delhi but it was full. We managed to find the exclusive and highly recommended Kalinga restaurant and Scotland beat CIS 3-0 and Holland beat Germany 3-1. That means Holland & Germany are through.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	5
Germany	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	3
Scotland	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	2
CIS	3	0	2	1	1	4	–3	2

2012
Things have been a bit different in the Euros this time, Holland out, France and England through. As ever, the Germans are also through.

16th June 1992 Day 332

The Diary

Surely the hottest day of the last 332 days. After about 2 hours wandering round the old town, checking out the station, looking for newspapers and magazines to find out what was happening in the world, we'd had enough and returned to base. A few hours later we ventured out to have a look at the magnificent Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, the residence of the former Maharaja of Jodhpur. 

I wouldn't park my bike next to a heffalump

For just over 300rp we dined in the smoking room attended by waiters in all their Rajput finery and we managed to get quite a good look around the hotel. Incredibly grandiose, even the toilets contained leopardskins on the walls and vast settees. It is actually possible to get a room for 40 pounds - definitely to be tried some day.

2012
It must have been hot - it was 46degrees C the previous day. 115F in old money. India (the northern plains at the height of the summer before the monsoon season) was the hottest place I've ever been.

15th June 1992 Day 331

The Diary

A breakfast fiasco that could have been a script from Fawlty Towers. Indian ineptitude at its glorious best. Ignored at our table for 15 minutes then 5 different people came to take our order, two of whom claimed breakfast was over and we couldn't order. We perservered and perhaps Oz's call for the complaints book swung it our way.

It won't hurt a bit

We walked into town, watched a street dentist filing a man's tooth beneath the market clock tower and then headed up the hill to the fort. A familiar scenario, it was noon, the sun was blazing down & we'd just finished our water & we were about to climb a steep hill. We survived but we needed the drinks shop at the top. We did a guided tour of the palace in the Mehrangarh  Fort which was one of the best kept we'd visited (far better than the pathetic government museum a stone's throw from the tourist bungalow) and took photos including one of ourselves and some locals which we promised to send to them.

I think Oz did send a copy of the photo to them

We walked back down via a mausoleum and then cut through the one-storey boxes that most of the town seemed to inhabit. Blue houses denoted Brahmins but there seemed to be a large proportion of them. Maybe some people are telling fibs. Like the Pied Piper we walked through the streets followed by hordes of kids wanting to shake our hands, say hello or procure one rupee or one pen from us. They were every bit as exhausting as the 46 degree heat.

In the evening we went for a splurge at the Ajit Bhawan Palace Hotel. A superb buffet for 85rp each and an evening chatting to Rupert & Barbara (left Hong Kong after 3 years, travelling for several months in India before returning to the UK, she a ballet teacher that had lived in South America and we never did find out what he did) and Alan & Sarah (2 doctors from Blackburn doing a similar round the world trip to us, he'd just turned 30 and was reading the Great Railway Bazaar and came up with comments like "Tommy Hutchison still playing for Swansea at 42", she was a bit scatter brained - according to Alan - but was very forthcoming with lots of travel stories).

14th June 1992 Day 330

The Diary
Up before the crack of dawn - 3:45 just to catch the 5:30 express luxury bus which as usual was no such thing. It took 7 hours to get to Jodhpur but as it left so early it was quite cool for the majority of the journey. We checked in to the RTDC Ghoomar Tourist Bungalow and took a 200rp air-conditioned room. Then we crashed out for several hours.

When we awoke we searched the streets in vain for a restaurant. We gave up and went back to the bungalow. Their restaurant opened at 7pm. We ate re-heated curry and suffered the poor service. A very poor meal. World news update: Denmark 0 England 0 and France v Sweden was also a draw. President Bush claimed the US were world leaders in environmental protection in a speech at the Rio earth summit. The world & its environment disagreed.

2012
It was the first George Bush back in 1992...


Which reminded me of this.....