I'm a tourist

Things have changed. I’m a tourist in India and this is change. Living in Chennai I was not a local and not a tourist and not an expat. Even though I have an inability to explain what I was I know what I am coming out of South India and walking down the street in Jaipur. A tourist and it’s a weird feeling in a country where I know the basic customs but not the local language or attitudes. Jaipur is my first city of complete old India. More cycle rickshaws than Honda city’s and more temples then malls… with loads of forts and palaces. Rajasthan is supposed to be the palace capital in India and seeing as though the capital has ten main one I think this is a fair description. My experience here is more than seeing a new city it is about seeing how the majority of the northern India person lives and it will become even clearer in Jaislmer. India has been so good to me that when I get into situations that would be hard for other tourist I have an innate feeling that thing and people are going to move in a positive a safe direction. Day to day Indians (those that you interact with on the street) with good Hindu hearts that at the worsted charge you ten more rupees than they should and tell you that they wish you namaste. These are usually men for they are the shopkeepers and auto drivers, not the same as the account executives and marketing manager that I was working with day to day in Chennai.

To be a tourist I am approached more for a tour guide and a driver and hollered at more by the local jobless characters on the right of me as a walk down the street. Yes, I am going to see more tourist destinations, but still I have a different sign on my head and this is blinking with neon colored bulbs. Page and I are a walking riot and page with her blonde hair is a crowd pleaser. We seem to get to the great places thought, sometimes without even trying. This occurred yesterday when we were walking out of city palace in Jaipur and I stuck up a conversation with an auto driver I slipped a Tamil word and he asked where I was from while telling me he was from Chennai. I said I had lived in Chennai and smiled. We eventually decided to take a ride on his cycle rickshaw and he was our guide for 2 hours… He stopped at the best known temple and the old pink city… two places on our hotel to-do list on the way to our proper destination of the Wind Temple. We agreed to go to a jewelry shop of his friends but ended up not buying a thing. I did tip him though for the information and safe travel that he provided to us. When asked what we owed him at the end of the journey he said “what do you want to give” this is when I was sure that he was a good soul. Even after we had left the care of his auto he came back knowing that we were still figuring out where we wanted to go to next and pointed out a movie theater across the road. I laughed and said thank you… typical India thinking that a movie was the perfect curb to our time management.


Jaipur is great and I’ll be excited to return in four days for a night stay and then head to Agra.

Tourist are a walking excitement for local that wonder…..

These are the typical question you receive:
1. Where you from?
2. Why you here?
3. Where you have you been?
4. Where are you going next?
5. How long have you been in India and until when?
6. What do you do in your home country?
7. What languages do you speak?

But the real question is…. How many questions can I ask before you get annoyed and want to walk away?

My only purchase today outside the hotel was form a small boy wearing a red t-shirt and black pants walking into the Amber Fort.
He approached the typical way. First not saying a thing and shadowing you. Then saying “hello Madame, 100 rupees for all.”
Page then cut in a said “no hablo engles.” With that the boy started speaking in proper Spanish. Describing what he was selling, for how much and I started to listen. “You speak Spanish?” I asked. He responded again in Spanish. I was so impressed I bought the one thing he was holding for 100 rupees. Which included 6 pill boxes wrapped in plastic sitting on a random picture of two old men asian men sitting on a elephant getting a ride up to the fort in 1989. I told him I was so impressed and to keep learning Spanish and was on my way.

Tonight we get on a train at 12am and reach Jaislmer at 1030am….. I’m sure a story will come.