I'm Beat

I spent most of the day wandering around the extensive grounds of 2 forts and a palace on the outskirts of town (Amber palace, Tiger Fort and one other). Lots of walking in the sun (which, while nothing like the 45 degree celsius heat of the summer, was still beating down pretty hard). And my cold and last night's stomach problems were not helping things...

But it was good. Nothing spectacular, but nice to walk around and enjoy the sights. Thinking about harems..... The coolest was the Water Palace, which was this old palace in the middle of a lake. Not on an island, but actually built in the middle of the lake. Very cool.

Although, I was forced to slightly downgrade my opinion of Jaipur, because the roads outside the main area of town are MISERABLE. Not a place for those who easily get carsick.

Lunch was a pretty tasty -- at this restaurant outside of the amber fort. At only 80 rupees (less than two bucks) it reminded me of the huge price gap between "local food" and food for tourists and middle-class Indians. For example, while still cheap by Western standards, my dinner last night was around 300 rupees (7 bucks), which was considerably more than lunch.

Based on the steady creep up in the cost of dining that I've been experienced, I've come to the realization that I'm probably no longer cut out for the backpacker life... Another perfect example is my train for tomorrow night. Originally told that my midnight train to Jaisalmer was fully booked, I was then informed that if I bought a ticket from Delhi, instead of Jaipur, there was availability, but this would cost an extra 11 bucks. Instead of doing the cheapo flexibly backpacker thing and just changing my schedule by heading to another city first, I opted for the more expensive ticket. FURTHERMORE, I decided I didn't want to take the 3AC class of ticket (which crams 3 levels of bunks in each car) so spent ANOTHER 11 bucks to get 2AC (only 2 bunks -- 3 seemed a bit claustrophobic....). A whole $22. Scandalous, I know. But seriously, I bet most people doing the 6-month backpacker thing wouldn't have done it. I couldn't help myself, though.

Slowly, but surely, my loose daily budget is getting looser. I keep telling myself that I'm only here for a month, so it's okay. And that I'm on vacation, so it's better to enjoy. Both of which are true. But somewhere, deep down inside, I can't help but feeling that I'm selling out. Then again, I like it that way.... (after all, little more than a month ago I was staying at the W hotel in Seoul, now I'm staying at a place that's less than one tenth the cost, and ecstatic about the fact that it has good showers....)

As I said, I'm beat. I've been in this internet cafe for 2 hours, which helped kick the boredom I was experiencing. Now it's time for a quick, light dinner, and an early bed.