Day 121: It DOES Rain in India!

Sunday, January 3

Today we rose early, but not for church. That’s right, I’m playing hookie while in this country! Don’t tell. ;-)

Our early departure was to the city of Jaipur, one of my wife’s favorite places. I can see why. Once we made it there (after 6 hours of driving) we went to the Amber Fort and saw the world’s largest cannon. The Fort was hundreds of years old and was really cool, except for the trash that is everywhere and the smell of pee that we couldn’t get away from. The fact that it was raining was a serious drag, because it made wandering around much harder and very smelly (due to the sewage and trash)...But, I was glad to know that even in India, it does rain some!

I did like the experience of Indian driving on a one lane road winding up and then back down the mountain, which is to say I’m thankful we didn’t roll off the mountain!

Once in the city we hit the streets, enjoying a native meal and seeing a few sites. The beggers where everywhere and followed us constantly, wanting money. I thought about offering a few of them jobs, just to see how they’d respond, but thought better of it.

Shopping was another experience. In one store, I was looking at a very nice piece of jewelry that I was willing to pay a fair price for…but the guy gave me this ridiculous amount and I said no. He tried to sell me on how nice it was, etc…and I told him he was crazy and turned to leave. That’s what you do here, you get the price and when you don’t like it, you leave. If they follow you, you know the door is open to haggle.

Here it was, and the man told me that ‘For you, I will give you my best price!” My response was why hadn’t he given me that first, to which he said with complete honesty, “You are an American in India!” I wanted to laugh so hard at his comment.

By the time we were done, I had negotiated a price that was 60% less than his initial offer and was exactly the price I was willing to pay. I left happy and he left richer. After that, I stood back mostly and watched my wife work her magic as she got gifts for people back home and trinkets to remember our time here.

After the shopping, we took the long ride back to the hotel, which I am beginning to wonder about… the shower doesn’t drain, the sink doesn’t drain, the toilet bowl leaks, and I honestly think there is a security camera in the air vent!

With Love,

Devin, on behalf of Eli
Countdown to Devin leaving: 4 days…