The Alexandrine parrots feast at the bird feeders this morning and the African Grey parrot let’s out a few words as we have breakfast at the homestay. I’m eating blander foods until my tummy adjusts.

After breakfast we load into a jeep and head out into the countryside around Jodhpur.

Peacocks are native to India and it is illegal to keep them for pets since they are the national bird. We pull over to the roadside where some are hanging out, doing their bird stuff. Unfortunately none of the males are feeling amorous so their tails are all down. They’re still beautiful.

Moving on, the dust thrown up by the roads causes me to cough so I wear my face mask.

We pass long rows of cow dung patties made from cow dung and left to dry in the sun. Large piles of already dried patties are stored beside homes to be used as fuel for cooking fires. As a matter of fact almost all the cow is used; dung for fire, milk for drinking, urine for medicine and when the cow dies they use the skin for leather and the birds eat the meat.

We soon arrive at a small farm in Bishnoi village. This village is Hindu and they do not eat any animals. They love animals.

 

 

A man all in white, his wife, mother and twodaughters greet us. The wife is stirring a pot over a cow patty fire.

The man takes us to an area where he performs a ceremony for making an opium drink.

Out of nowhere, a truly obnoxious Indian tourist arrives with her guide and keeps loudly interrupting during the ceremony. He offers us some opium drink which we all decline but the obnoxious tourist goes back three times for more. She is warned about the effects but she answers that if she can drink a bottle of whiskey, opium water will be no problem. She immediately leaves with her guide as soon as the opium water is done, missing the rest of the cultural experience.

We all drink normal tea. Apparently if you  have tea after drinking opium water it magnifies the experience.

 

 

The man goes on to demonstrate how to wrap a turbin. This is a different method than the Sikh’s use.

The sisters take us girls into the house where they dress us in the local village clothing. Upon alighting from the house, there is much posing. 

We learn how to grind the grains which is usually women’s work. I tried. It is a good workout if you had to do it for long periods of time.

The younger daughter takes is to the side of the house and shows us their very pretty  cow with soft, gentle eyes.  We ask why its tied up and not running around free like most other cows. “It runs away”, she replies.

His daughter tells us that she is fifteen and no longer goes to school because she doesn’t want to ride a bike to school on her own. When questioned, she doesn’t seem too interested in school. Garima tells us that the Indian government gives bikes to kids that need transportation to go to school but that school is not compulsory.

The grandmother is quite elderly. We are shown pictures of her as a young woman and told a story that she nursed an orphaned baby deer with her own milk.

 

 

Back on the road we pass wild antelope and black buck on our way to a potters house. The potter uses a hand spun stone wheel and makes a few things. Then John tries. It’s harder than it looks.

After buying a little pottery Ganesh figure we head back into the jeep stopping at a confectionery for snacks, a fruit stand for food and a pharmacy for electrolites. Medications cost so much less here and you do not need a prescription.

One thing I like about Intrepid Tours is that we are given a lot of  free time to do what we choose. Most of the time we choose to do things with the others.

We drop our stuff off at the homestay before heading with the group to the air conditioned Sparrow’s Pizzaria Restaurant, down the street.

A dog is resting at the side of the road with one leg is twitching uncontrollably.

The group mostly orders pizza. Even when you ask for no spice in India, you still get spice. John and I had a thin crust Hawaiian pizza which had a spicy kick. It was good.

Garima is upset by some Indian girls in their twenties at the next table giving the wait staff a hard time. I guess some people “feeling entitled” is a worldwide issue.

When we leave the restaurant that pitiful dog tries to follow me, dragging it’s twitchy leg behind. I get some leftover naan from my room but when I return, the dog is nowhere to be seen.

 

 

Most of the group rest during the hot afternoon hours but John and I grab a tuk tuk and go to the Umaid Bhawan Palace. Besides being the Maharaja and family’s residence, other parts are a museum and high end, super expensive hotel. Entrance is 100Rs.

John and I go through the museum which was interesting and had many items from the Maharaja’s family. On our way out we heard a fanfare play and a young man came out of the palace front doors, got into the back of a car with flags on the front antenna and drove off.

We negotiate with a tuk tuk driver and speed off to Madore Gardens.

It’s free to enter the gardens. A large troop of Langur monkeys are hanging around in one area of the gardens. They are a bit creepy with their elongated limbs and the way they show their teeth at you if you get too close.

I also hear and see many Alexandrine parrots around the park.

Once again, many people approach me and ask to take selfies with me. At one point I have a whole crowd of people lined up for pictures with me on a bench…I even had a baby plunked on my lap. It is actually quite flattering. Garima says that many Indians find us exotic…now that’s something I don’t get every day.

Madore used to be the capital of the area. John and I go to the Madore State Museum which borders the park. The museum is in the old palace and has an eclectic mix of historical paintings, sculptures, moth eaten taxidermy birds, a 20th century crocodile and more on display. It was quite interesting and well worth the 100Rs entrance fee.

We continue walking through the park with all its colorful bougainvillea bushes towards the tall, intricate monuments from that ancient dynasty of Maharajas.

We run into Garima, Jasmine, Marlene and Jim before heading towards the exit.

We pass a security guard throwing rocks and chasing the monkeys to some other area. It seems these naughty simians cause more trouble than humans in this park.

 

 

A tuk tuk takes us to our final stop, the Sardar Market. As the evening before, the market is busy with tuk tuks  and motorcycles zipping all over. A black bull with very large horns snoozes in the middle of the road as traffic zips around him.

I head to a group of people selling saris. After looking at their wares, I negotiate for a cobalt blue one with silver bead work. As we get our change the sari people quickly start shoving all their saris in bags and disperse. It appears that the police are coming.

John and I head to a store beside one of the main gates that both our guide, Garima and TripAdvisor says has the best lassis in town. Lassis are a flavoured yogurt drink. This one seemed to be a lemony vanilla flavour. Yum.

Pooped out, we take one last tuk tuk back to the hotel where I pack and John goes out for a snack.

Costs
*Bishnoi village tour- 700Rs- $12.60 CAD
*Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum- 100Rs each – $1.80 CAD
*State Museum Mandor- 100Rs each- $1.80 CAD
*Lassis- 40Rs each – $0.75 CAD
*Tuk tuk rides: Jagat Villas to Umaid Bhawan Palace – 120 Rs; Umaid Bhawan Palace to Madore Gardens – 200Rs; Madore Gardens to Sardar Market – 200Rs; Sardar Market to Jagat Villas – 150Rs. Total 750Rs- $13.50 CAD