PRINCESS GINGER'S BIRTHDAY
Trip Start
Sep 02, 2012
1
11
42
Trip End
Oct 10, 2012
Where I stayed
The Kishan Palace
Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Wake at 4.30am to get ready to catch the train to Pushkar. First thing Fred does is wish me happy birthday and hand me a card that he had written a verse in himself. I'd like to share that with you.
Birthdays come, birthdays go
But one in India - Anything goes
You go for everything
You give it your lot
But unfortunately for you, you got the trots
But Hey !!! What does it matter
It will all pan out
On this special day, after one more clearout
So my Darling, so my love
You will always be my turtle dove.
Fred can be such a romantic old Muppet.
At 5.30am 5 Kamakazie auto-rickshaw drivers turn up to take us to the station. Only one of them was using headlights. It was a 20 minute white knuckle ride in the dark with several close encounters on the way. We asked our driver why he wasn't using his head lights? he said" No need after 5.30am" I said."But it's pitch black". He said "Yes but it will be light soon". There is no answer to that!
It's always madness when you board the train. You can buy a seat with a designated number or you can pay less and hope that you manage to get a seat and don't have to stand for 6 hrs. For the first 3 hrs we were very lucky, we had spare seats across from us, so we were able to spread out a bit. Behind us were kids from a boys school & girls school. The girls were about 12yrs old, and they behaved just like any other young girls around the world - they never stopped singing, clapping, laughing, or all talking at once. In fact, the noise on the train was almost deafening, but never lacking atmosphere, as one little drama after the other played itself out.
Gradually the train started to fill up and we were confined to our own seats. A family moved in across from us and I have never seen so much stuff packed into such a small area - it was literally everything but the kitchen sink! They must have fannied around for a good hour arranging and rearranging stuff. The wife just got settled when along came the conductor. The husband stood up and invited the conductor to sit down while he checked their tickets, and next minute the wife slaps a bowl of rice on the conductors lap, ladles in a bit of curry and hands him some Nan! All this happens very quickly and unexpectedly the conductor is having lunch - whether he wanted it or not! With every mouthful of rice he eats the wife replenishes his bowl with more. After 10 mins he manages to stand up and make his exit. His uniform looked quite smart when he sat down, but not any more, he had grains of rice all over him and a bit of a food- slide going on down his jacket. While all this was taking place, the husband had taken himself off and when he returned and whilst the wife's back was turned, a very cute little old man (who strongly resembled Ghandi) had sat in the husband's place. The husband was trying to explain to Mr Ghandi that he had taken his seat. Or was it his seat? Was the feeding of the conductor a diversionary ploy? Anyway Mr Ghandi had his own tactics, he kept smiling and wobbling his head in a way that only Indians can do, and all the while not saying a word. In the end the husband threw in the towel, he had met his match. Well done Mr Ghandi, seat rage avoided.
Along the way, Fred made 2 new besties. A couple of young lads about 18yrs old wanted to talk to him, then they asked if they could take his photo as they thought he had a distinguished face. Fred was only to happy to oblige. I stood up to go for a little walk and stretch my legs, and suddenly I was besieged by the little girls behind us. They wanted to feed me and ask me questions, the only problem was they were all doing it at the same time. I spent the rest of the journey talking to them. They were on their way to a softball tournament and it was a big day out for them. They were delightful, they just chatted non stop. When we left the train at Pushkar they gave us the biggest noisiest goodbye ever, 14 beautiful smiling faces waving us off the train.
We arrived at the Kishan Palace in Pushkar at about midday. The Kishan was once a beautiful big family home that has now been converted into a hotel and all around us we have mountain views. Every single wall inside the hotel has been covered in art work, it's just beautiful. We had lunch on the rooftop restaurant, which was so relaxing with big soft squidgy sofas to sprawl on and enjoy the view. We met up at 4.30pm to have a walk through the town. For the Hindus, Pushkar is one of the holiest cities, in fact it is the only city in India to have a Brahma Temple. There are always a lot of Indians making a pilgrimage to Pushkar to visit the Temple and bathe in the sacred lake. Pushkar has a different look to any other city we have visited so far. It's quite orderly, in an Indian sort of way and also the buildings are adorned with artwork, which is a style we haven't seen before. We are having my birthday party tonight on the rooftop. DJ has invited his cousins to join us as it is also one of his cousin's birthday. Doris has bought me a lovely scarf and a beautiful frieze on silk depicting Udaipur for my birthday, oh she does spoil me.
After we finish the main meal, Doris, Fred and Maddie stand up and start dishing out pieces of paper. Doris then announces to me that she has written me a birthday song, why am I not surprised! I would now like to share this touching tribute with you. Sung to the tune of Yellow Submarine:
1. Oh today's a special day
For Princess Ginger to celebrate
A pamper day with tasty bits
that's if she hasn't still got the shits
She's been ill for half the trip
Rip Van winkle with her long kips
Lots of vomiting and shits
Fred's been mopping up all her bits
Chorus: We all know that our Ginger's 62
You don't believe it's true?
She's deffo 62
We all know that our Ginger's 62
Disillusioned she may be
She thinks she's 33
2. We've been to Delhi and Jailsamer
Jodphur, Udaipur
And now Pushkar
Amazing sights
Amazing folk
And our guide DJ's
A lovely bloke
It was mental on the train
But it was blissful in the pool
Camels farting on the trek
Though kicking Fred was very cruel
Chorus:
3. So she'll share this special day
Inviting new friends to birthday tea
And she might behave herself
But there can be no guarantee
Chorus to finish.
Thanks Doris, that was very special, and thanks to the rest of the group for jumping on Doris's whacky bandwagon and making it a memorable birthday. When the singing finished, the lights went down and DJ came out with a big cream birthday cake! This has just been so much fun, I will always remember this birthday.
PS I apologise for the Princess on the throne photo - the group said that if it didn't go on the blog it was going on youtube. Fred has a lot to answer for.
Comments
Love the birthday song...... Glad your feeling slightly better...