This morning we woke up at 3 am when we had to be up at 5. Anita managed another hour of sleep but 3 was morning for me. Our taxi arrived at 6 and we got to the airport about 6:30. When we arrived, it was chaos of course and we made the mistake of standing inside the entrance trying to figure out where to go. We were approached by a young man in blue dress pants and blue sweater with an airline insignia and security badge. At the Jaipur airport, the checked bags go through an X-ray machine, are tagged and then you get them back. Then you take them to your airline check-in desk which is not that well marked. With little sleep, we were trying to figure out which baggage check to go to and when.
The man looked the way Air Canada or WestJet employees look when they're helping you at automated check-in kiosks. In addition, no-one gets in the door to the departure area of the airport unless they have a ticket and ID or they work there. He just started helping us get our bags through the x-ray, then to the right check-in desk. When he cut the line and accompanied us through security, we realized that we were going to have to pay for the VIP treatment and we had not negotiated a price ahead. In the end, it cost us 500 rupees ($10) which is an exorbitant amount here, probably at least 2 or 3 times what it's worth. We had made several mistakes because we were tired and confused so I guess $10 for being an unwary traveler isn't an expensive lesson.
However, it's just one more example of how the whole travel infrastructure here is confusing and allows scam artists to take advantage of tired, naive foreign tourists. We've met a few foreign tourists who are back in India for a second or third time but we've met many more who say it's interesting but they'll never come back. No doubt when they get home they'll tell other people to be wary in India. There are some unique breathtaking sights here and we're glad that we have been able to see them. However, there are a lot of nice places in the world that are a lot less hassle. The Indian government is probably losing a lot of tourist dollars by allowing dummies like us to be preyed upon.
At the Udaipur airport, we took a moment to use the washroom so we were a bit delayed getting to the right luggage carousel. My pack came along quickly but there was a moment of panic when we realized that the only other bag on the carousel was an Osprey pack very similar to Anita's but not exactly the same. We were the only ones left standing there. A few minutes later a foreign tourist came running in from the parking lot with Anita's pack, yelling, "Sorry, sorry". He got his pack and we got ours so all was well once again.
We had arranged a taxi through our hotel and he was waiting for us. Both the taxi in Jaipur to the airport and the one in Udaipur to our hotel didn't have functional seat belts in the back seat. When we complained to both drivers, they both said, "No problem, back side not compulsory". Apparently you don't need to wear a seat belt in the back seat here. However, our concern was dying in a traffic accident, not getting a ticket. Anyway, we made it.
On the way into Udaipur we got a good picture of the ubiquitous "Blow Horn" sign on the back of trucks. They want to know when you're passing. Also, we got a picture of one of the many ladies wearing a sari and riding side-saddle on the back of a motorbike. Then there was today's groom on a horse picture. From across the lake, in town, we took a picture of our hotel (the highest building) in the distance. We have a room on the 4th floor (walk-up) with a balcony big enough to sit on and look out on the lake. From our room we also took a picture of the city across the lake. Then we saw a group of ladies in saris singing while they paraded into a small Hindu temple across the street. We don't have any idea why this happened on a Tuesday afternoon.
Udaipur is a bit cleaner than Jaipur so it's the best city we've been in yet. That doesn't mean it's clean, just cleaner. We like our hotel (2000 rupees or $40 per night) and the fact that we have a nice, high quiet balcony where we can relax. We ate breakfast in the rooftop restaurant and it was really good and reasonably priced so we'll go there again for dinner. Today was all about orientation in our new surroundings. Tomorrow we'll probably tour the City Palace that we can see from our room.
The man looked the way Air Canada or WestJet employees look when they're helping you at automated check-in kiosks. In addition, no-one gets in the door to the departure area of the airport unless they have a ticket and ID or they work there. He just started helping us get our bags through the x-ray, then to the right check-in desk. When he cut the line and accompanied us through security, we realized that we were going to have to pay for the VIP treatment and we had not negotiated a price ahead. In the end, it cost us 500 rupees ($10) which is an exorbitant amount here, probably at least 2 or 3 times what it's worth. We had made several mistakes because we were tired and confused so I guess $10 for being an unwary traveler isn't an expensive lesson.
However, it's just one more example of how the whole travel infrastructure here is confusing and allows scam artists to take advantage of tired, naive foreign tourists. We've met a few foreign tourists who are back in India for a second or third time but we've met many more who say it's interesting but they'll never come back. No doubt when they get home they'll tell other people to be wary in India. There are some unique breathtaking sights here and we're glad that we have been able to see them. However, there are a lot of nice places in the world that are a lot less hassle. The Indian government is probably losing a lot of tourist dollars by allowing dummies like us to be preyed upon.
At the Udaipur airport, we took a moment to use the washroom so we were a bit delayed getting to the right luggage carousel. My pack came along quickly but there was a moment of panic when we realized that the only other bag on the carousel was an Osprey pack very similar to Anita's but not exactly the same. We were the only ones left standing there. A few minutes later a foreign tourist came running in from the parking lot with Anita's pack, yelling, "Sorry, sorry". He got his pack and we got ours so all was well once again.
We had arranged a taxi through our hotel and he was waiting for us. Both the taxi in Jaipur to the airport and the one in Udaipur to our hotel didn't have functional seat belts in the back seat. When we complained to both drivers, they both said, "No problem, back side not compulsory". Apparently you don't need to wear a seat belt in the back seat here. However, our concern was dying in a traffic accident, not getting a ticket. Anyway, we made it.
On the way into Udaipur we got a good picture of the ubiquitous "Blow Horn" sign on the back of trucks. They want to know when you're passing. Also, we got a picture of one of the many ladies wearing a sari and riding side-saddle on the back of a motorbike. Then there was today's groom on a horse picture. From across the lake, in town, we took a picture of our hotel (the highest building) in the distance. We have a room on the 4th floor (walk-up) with a balcony big enough to sit on and look out on the lake. From our room we also took a picture of the city across the lake. Then we saw a group of ladies in saris singing while they paraded into a small Hindu temple across the street. We don't have any idea why this happened on a Tuesday afternoon.
Udaipur is a bit cleaner than Jaipur so it's the best city we've been in yet. That doesn't mean it's clean, just cleaner. We like our hotel (2000 rupees or $40 per night) and the fact that we have a nice, high quiet balcony where we can relax. We ate breakfast in the rooftop restaurant and it was really good and reasonably priced so we'll go there again for dinner. Today was all about orientation in our new surroundings. Tomorrow we'll probably tour the City Palace that we can see from our room.
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