not in Agra yet

well i must have eaten something nasty again because i've been sick and in my hotel room for the last 24 hours. i have nothing left inside of me. i can't even drink water without running to the toilet.
i missed my train to Agra this morning but i don't care. i'd rather rest and catch it in a few days.

i went back to the train station this morning to book another train to Agra. then i went in search of a Citi bank ATM. one of the few banks that will accept my TD bank card. i wondered around forever following random people's directions. finally i agreed to letting a cycle rickshaw driver take me there. what an awful experience. the ride was so bumpy and death defying. in my current state i had to concentrate on not barfing. turns out i could have easily walked there. he neglected to mention that he can't bike in the area i was going to so i had to walk the rest of the way. he also demanded 120 rupees. 100 rupees more than what i had agreed to. i ended up giving him 30 went to the bank and walked back.

i think i am offically being stalked. on my way back from the bank, some indian boy asked if i remembered him. this is a common question which i say no to. then he said he was from Jaipur and friends with Ali, the obsessed rickshaw driver i had! that's when i picked up the pace and started freaking out. i don't think he followed me down the road so hopefully he doesn't know where i am staying. i plan on buying more water, some food and crashing in my hotel room this afternoon/evening.

tomorrow, if i am feeling better, i will take a city tour.

Dehli

dehli is really cool and so gigantic. the part of town i'm staying in is near the new dehli train station and it reminds me of Koa San Road in Bangkok. There are tons of other travellers here and I don't feel so alone. My first day here I met some more French people. I ended up hanging out in the restaurant with them for 2 hours and then the 6 of us went by rickshaw to see Hanuyams Tomb. It was really cool. The tomb was built by the same person who built the Taj Mahal (which i am going to on Sunday or Monday). after the tomb. Eric and Kristof had to go to the travel agent to sort out their travel arrangements. Eric is this 46 year old crazy guy that Kristof (28) had met on the airplane coming here and they had decided to travel together. or more, Eric had decided he wanted to travel with Kristof. I made Kristoff give me his email so that I can hear updates on their travel adventures which i'm sure will be hilarious. the other 3 people I hung out with that day were 1 french girl who had been travelling with a Mexican girl for the last 3 weeks. they had come to Dehli to meet up with the French girl's father. the girl's father spoke no English at all. Surprisingly i've really been practicing my french the last couple of weeks in India.
after the travel agent part of the deal with the rickshaw was that we go to see at least two stores that give him commissions. none of us wanted to go we were all so tired. i ended up buying some overpriced tea and masala chai mix just because i felt bad that we were in these stores and no one was buying anything.
this morning the two guys set out on their journey and the 2 girls and dad went off and did their own thing today. i'll probably see them letter in the guest house restaurant. today i've taken it really easy. i got my train ticket for Agra for Sunday and bought a skirt and 3 tops. i think i'll try to figure out where the post office is today and mail some things home. then start on my new book.

Jaipur

Yesterday i arrived in Jaipur after a very long train ride that i spent with 4 french boys. they were staying at my hotel in Jaisalmer and were headed to Dehli on the same train as me. it made the time pass by much quicker. turns out they spent a lot less for their camel trek then i did but had a 3 day trip! i mine was 2! their food was also decent. grr.

i got to Jaipur yesterday and decided i'd like to do one of those rickshaw tours. my rickshaw driver took me all over the town. it was so exhausting. of course he threw in some stores that i had to visit in the hopes i'd buy something and he'd get a commission. i did end up buying an overpriced ring from a jewellery store. it's really nice. the man that sold it to me was born in victoria and his family moved back to india when he was three. wierd coincidence. he does gem healing which i know nothing about. he had talked to me for about 2 minutes and then started telling me about myself. it was really freaky how much he knew. it was sort of like having your fortune told. i almost got sucked into buying a healing gem to wear. but since i'm skeptical and don't trust anyone in india i didn't. later that evening my rickshaw driver insisted i go to some resort performance thingy with him. i had said i was way too tired. in the end i went and it was a freakin date!! here i was thinking i'd finally found someone from india that didn't want something from me. today i've had to spend the day avoiding him and his dweeby friends. they seem to be everywhere and always find me. even now as i'm on the computer, the rickshaw guy is waiting for me outside. he nows everyone on this street so if i go somewhere they tell him where and when i left. i get no peace in this country! the men here are so annoying.

this afternoon i'm getting out of this town and going to Dehli. i doubt i'll like Dehli since it's huge and crowded but it'll be nice to be annonymous for a change. then i'll head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. then maybe Goa. haven't decided yet. i'm looking forward to going to Switzerland where people won't try to sell me something or rip me off every few seconds.

spending time in the fort city

at cry's request, i am writing another blog poste since she says i don't write often enough.

yesterday when i got back to my guest house after my oil massage the showers where out of water. i had to try to wipe off oil with kleenex before going to bed. it was pretty gross.
today i spent the day in Jaisalmer checking out the palaces and havelis. i didn't believe the hotel guy when he said it would only take a few hours to see all the major attractions. i've seen almost all the major things there are to see here today. i'll have to find something to do tomorrow since my train doesn't leave until 3:30pm for Jaipur. i think i'll sleep in and get some henna painting done on my hand and arm. find one more haveli and there is also some lake here somewhere. i doubt its much of a lake since htis is the desert.

i met a Hungarian girl this morning, we saw some temples together and then we made plans to meet up for dinner too. it was nice to have company for a meal for a change. I also ran into one of the camel guides while i was wandering in town. i made him come to a restaurant with me and offered to buy him lunch but he said he wasn't hungry. look how desperate i am. i force people to come to restaurants with me!
i bought some stupid jingly bell anklettes today because i thought it would stop these women from pestering me to buy some. it did not work. they seem to think i will buy more now. i've learnt my lesson. i also got invited to their house but i was a little worried about going alone so i said i would if my friend could come and that i had to talk to her first. i don't think they understood what i was saying and i felt bad for not showing up later. if there had been another tourist to come with me i would have gone but alone i don't feel so comfortable.