The Sickness

Pushcar 

I'm catapulting down the highway right now at what must be a million miles an hour, weaving aggressively in and out of traffic. Well ok, not right now, but I was when I wrote the original journal entry. I've encountered more than a few crazy third world drivers, but this guys is a specific breed of maniac. We are passing everything in sight, stopping for nothing, he rides his horn and brake all while talking on his cell phone and spitting brown wads of what I assume to be tobacco or betel out the window. I'm on my way to Jodhpur, I started the journey from Udaipur with white knuckles, praying for my life - Did I mention this car has no seat belts? But after a few hours of this madness, my life is in tact, and I've started to like this driver. He just cut a 8 hour journey into 6. We ain't stopping for no one bitches!!

The last few days have been a mix of ups and downs. India likes to initiate most of her new arrivals with some form of sickness, and apparently I am no exception. I woke up on my last day in Jaipur feeling like I was hit by a bus. My entire body ached, I was feverish, my stomach was tied in a crampy, bloated knot...and I had to catch a bus in less than four hours. This is not the first time this has happened. When I was in the Philippines I was hit by food poisoning while on an overnight bus. The experience ranks up there with the worst in my life, as I had to desperately beg the driver to pull over so I could vomit on the side of the road or huddle face first over a putrid Philippino truckers toilet...and this happened again, and again, and again, until half the bus was wanting him to drive off and leave me, I'm sure. So as you can probably imagine, I was not looking for a repeat of this. Unfortunately, the tickets to Pushcar were purchased, everyone I was with was leaving, I didn't want to be left behind. So I dragged my feverish ass into a tuk-tuk and off to the train station. After a long wait and some confusion as to whether the bus we were looking for actually existed, we were on our way. I think this bus may have been built before the dawn of time - but luckily, it wasn't too full. I spread out, mashing my head into prehistoric seat debris, but I didn't care, my fever was raging. I felt like death but in all honesty, it could have been worse. My stomach stayed in place and I had room to spread out and hate my life in private. Made it to Pushcar feeling like ass but with no life altering traumatic experiences.

Ahhh, Pushcar. The first Indian locale I would actually recommend. If you want to smoke hash with Hindu priests or buy dirt cheap hippie attire this is the place to be! Such a chilled out, relaxed town with so many things to do...Most of which I didn't have time for because I was cooped up in bed. But if there is one thing to make a girl feel better, it's a little retail therapy! Pushcar's main strip puts Thailand's Khoa San Road to shame! Endless, endless stores with beautiful items so cheap they are practically free. So I shopped 'til I dropped and bought two silk scarves, a pair of pants, a shirt, and three stone and (apparently real) silver pendants with rope for a grand total of $25.

Jodhpur

So I am doing ok. I am travelling with people right now, and at first I was just ecstatic to not be alone, but now I am finding that I don't really connect to any of them in any real way. We've basically been brought together by our mutual desire to not be alone, and continue to cling to each other for that very reason, and my commonalities with them end there. So at the end of the day, I still feel alone, but at least with a cushion now. Tomorrow I am off Jaisalmer which is famous for its desert landscape and camel treks. Not going to lie, I'm excited to ride a camel!