As per usual, the further I get into a trip, the less I write. I write this preamble at the end of my trip, on my final night in a hostel, in Jaipur. I’m tired, have had my trust in humanity trialed and stretched, I’ve spent far more money than I probably should or could have, and I’m looking forward to my flight home. Let this vulnerable disclosure serve as a warning that my writing may be more glum, or even gothic, than usual. It is not out of ingratitude, but merely exhaustion. Below is a rough reccount of my time in Rajasthan, logged as it went on.

Rajasthan Blog

Udaipur

• Great hostel
• Just walked around first day, and Cricket and Soccer at night
• Hanging with James, got a chai on the river, sunset up on the hill, then dance show, then 
• Next day fort in the morning and then run on Fateh Sagar, kareoke, and then hanging with Magi, Jitish, Candace
• Last day going up to the monsoon palace and the view, scooter down, then zoo and catching the night bus back 
• (written in retrospect) Udaipur is a lovely and small city. A handful of epic Indo-Islamic forts and temples are perched on the banks of two lakes. The white city, it is called, and much of the fortifications around the city are indeed white. I stayed in a placid hostel with a rooftop cafe. There I read and worked on my mysteries, with frequent breaks to admire the view of the lakes and the Udaipur fort. I met some of my favorite people from the entire trip- James, a Frenchman who wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions about India, and Nick, whose reappearance in Jodhpur was one of the most heartwarming interactions of the trip. My days were largely idle, but I walked plenty, had an amazing run on Fateh Sagar on a walking path exclusively (besides myself) populated with locals. A highlight was a traditional Rajasthani dance show James and I went to after a little hike (and a memorably failed cable car attempt), during which a woman balanced a preposterous amount of pots on her head.

Jodhpur

• Got in, napped in hostel, took breakfast. Walked around old city, blue town, tiny winding roads. Read book at a gorgeous little lake, and walked up the fort on the solitary, empty path. Toured the fort for a little while, relaxed, had a lunch, and went up to sunset hill. Met Happy who had some very interesting geopolitical takes, watched sunset, met Nick on the way down. Went back up to the temple on top, met the two monks who live there, ahd sugar and bananas, then got invited into the tiny smoky cave. One monk was too “XL”, his words, to fit, and the first thing he asked us about when we came out was Epstein files. Walked for a while with Nick, hitched scooters down the hill, had a great dinner on a rooftop. Next morning jog in park, met Pranav, and then James for lunch at hostel, went to the palace, and then caught my train at the station. For every three rickshaw drivers who refuse excess payment, there is one who totally is a scammer. Filp that sentence around, still true
• (in retrospect) My journey to Jodhpur was the first night bus I took on this trip. I had a full pod to myself, which felt luxurious, but I don’t think that I’ll ever enjoy the task of haggling for a rickshaw in the hour before sunrise after a handful of bumpy hours of sleep. I only spent about 36 hours in Jodhpur, and I enjoyed wandering around the Blue City and the gorgeous fort. My night chatting and exploring with Nick was one of the most pleasant of the trip, plus the mountaintop Epstein conversation must be one of the top anecdotes of the entire trip.

Jaisalmer (apparently written in present tense?)

• Meet some third gen stone carvers on the train
• Arrive late at night, sleep, explore the old city. Meet bobby, fighting for good jobs for women, and get some earrings, plus a crazy temple in the golden city. Then get back to hostel for camel safari, super awesome. Long drive out to the compound, drop bags, camel ride up to a sunset viewpoint with a funny little kid as my guide, and then dinner and dancing (grass dish, went straight through my bowels), and then  back out to the desert and had a lovely bonfire and chatting for a few hours with great people. Woke up early to see the sunrise and lovely breakfast, then jeep ride back into Jaisalmer.
• That day walked around, bumped into Amirkhan, from the train, outside his house, and he just took me to his stone carving factory, private tour and chai, CnC machine, cruising around on the back of his bike.
• Found a gym and ran on treadmill for an hour or so. A cow walked into the gym and I felt like I was in a New Yorker cartoon. Called with coop while jogging.
• While jogging I got a wedding invite from Dharmander, another guy I met on the train, to go to his nephew’s wedding. He picked me up outside the fort, whrere I was staying, drove me to the wedding venue, and then to his brothers’s shop where they tried to sell me stuff for like 45 minutes before going back to the wedding venue. Awesome celebrations, tons of people tkaing turns doign choreo up on stage and an awesome entrace by the bride and groom on the back of a motorcycle with pyrotechnics. Great local food and sweets. Dharmanded took a picture of him feeding me and groaned weridly. 
• Last day in Jaisalmer spent mostly chilling, working on grad school applications and reading. Was staying in the fort, a huge sandstone nest of businesses homes and temples sitting on the crown of a hill in the cneter of the city. Super cool and out of time, almost a Mos Eisely feel. I got dinner at a restaurand above their famous Jain temple and the guy turned on his own installed flood lights so I got to have a beautiful view of the temple at night all to myself. 

Jaipur

• 3AC train to Jaipur was long and crowded but I slept shockingly well. MEt a group of 6 guys doing their yearly boys trip, which theyve been doing for 20 years, and theyre all in their 50’s. 
• Got a taxi ride and met a guy named Rahul, who I hired for a guided tour the next day. Rested in the evening. 
• Got picked up by Rahul in the morning Drove through the pink city, which Rahul said has been painted orange by the current government to promote hinduism. Went to the stunning and pristene royal ghetto, where I got to observe some conservation work, the Jal Mahal which is a five story palace in the middle of the lake with the bottom three floors submerged, and then did some shopping at some really cool places that mostly do huge bulk wholesale. Rahul knew the owners and I got some cool insights onto famous textile crafts of Jaipur and capret industry. I got fitted for two suits (this place boasts a 4 hour turnaround with 125 tailors on the clock all day. I’d estimate more of a 10 hour turnaroud which is still nuts) and got two carpets for what, as far as I can tell, are pretty insane deals for the quality. This trip wouldn’t truly be an ode to grandmerry and granddad if I didn’t buy a carpet, after all. Then we checked out the Amber fort and the Hawa Mahal before a chill evening. Rahul is a great guy, working to bring up his neighbors and family, sacrificing a lot. And really generous and authentically looking out for me. “Shanti shanti”, means to relax and take it easy. The amber fort was a huge labyrinth of dark rooms and corridors, occasionally blasted with a dose of gregarious beauty and decor, all situatied on top of a hil amidst mountains lined with the palace walls, the third largest wall in the world.I happily got lost a few times. 
• Last day in Jaipur I went for a run in the morning and then got tea with Rahul, and then a lovely shave before snagging my nightbus to Varanasi