February 17, 2018. I start my trip in India’s Rajasthan state once I arrived in Jaipur, the largest city in Rajasthan. It is known as the “Pink City” because its old walled district (something like Intramuros in Manila) in the middle of the metropolis has its buildings all painted in “pink”.
Rajasthan state (literally land of ‘maharajas’ or kings) in India used to be a conglomerate of different princely kingdoms ruled from forts and city palaces such as the City Palace in Jaipur. Throughout India’s history these kingdoms preserved their territories and private holdings by allowing themselves to be coopted and controlled upon after defeat by the different invaders that conquered this part of India, from the Mughal Dynasty to the British Empire. The lineage of the royal families in Rajasthan still exist today and many of the monuments, forts and palaces across Rajasthan remain their private properties. Entrance to the actual palace in Jaipur is 2,000 Indian rupees or at least 1,750 pesos. No way I was shelling that out. Entrance to the palace open grounds is 500 rupees (approx. 400 pesos).
Later that afternoon, I decided to exert an effort despite feeling under the weather and took a taxi to the outskirts west of the city.
February 17, 2018. Solo backpacking India can have a steep learning curve. I had arrived in Jaipur sick, literally and figuratively. I had caught some airborne flu-like sickness somewhere (I don’t know how but I noticed a lot of people don’t cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing, aside from a lot of people spitting everywhere) and I was too weak and uncomfortable to move around on my first day. The bad train experience from Agra to Jaipur surely threw me off-track (pun intended). I had also craved for anything familiar to comfort me. For a while, I was so tired of everything that was so strange and foreign (which was almost everything I had experienced and sensed in India). I felt exhausted and I felt like I was stuck in an environment where I was alone and helpless. The fact that I was traveling alone made me feel miserable. I had likewise lost some faith in Indians especially after having confronted cunning locals who only wished to milk tourists like me dry. They offered exorbitant services when I am most desperate and in need.
Out of desperation for something familiar I went to a McDonald’s somewhere in the old city which looked like it was stuck in the 90’s and still–nothing was familiar on the menu except the fries! No meat allowed for this predominantly Hindu country. Their burgers were of cottage cheese patties (paneer) and their chicken burgers were too strange and spicy for me.
I then took it slow from thereon and soon enough I recovered and carried on this amazing albeit difficult journey. Traveling India solo weeks on end is challenging indeed. But that’s one of the things that make it quite an extraordinary and fascinating experience.