1st time around the world! by Laura_Foster

Whilst in Udaipur we went to a dance show at a place called Bagore-Ki-Haveli. There were traditional dances from Rajasthan, Gujurat and Goa. The chari  was impressive, where the dancers performed with pots on their heads which were alight!

My favourite dance was the lady who danced whilst balancing an increasing number of pots on her head, 9 all together. She then lay on the floor (whilst somehow still balancing the pots) and picked a hanky off a bouquet of flowers with her teeth! pretty special!

After Udaipur we headed to Jodphur, known as the blue city owing to the fact that in the past the 2 highest castes were permitted to paint the outside of their houses blue. The views from the Mehrangarh Fort which towers over the old walled city are spectacular. I listened to an audio guide at this place, which although makes you look like a proper tourist is really informative! One thing which stuck in my mind was a memorial to Maharaja Man Singh's widows, who threw themselves on their husband's funeral pyre in 1843. There are imprints of their tiny hands at one of the gates, which was a eerie sight to see.

We then headed to Pushkar where I rode a camel for the first (and last) time! It was ok when the camel was trotting as you are moved up and down, but when the camel is walking you sway from side to side - and chaffing is not my favourite thing ! I have a rather sore behind now!

We went through some villages and loads of the kids were waving and saying hello. It was good to have a glimpse of life in the country as we have mostly been seeing the city side of life. We slept underneath the stars on a sand dune, which was definitely something to remember. We didn't get much sleep though as there was music blaring from somewhere nearny until 5am and I was really paranoid about creatures climbing on me! When I went to put my shoes on there were two massive beatles chilling out in one!

On to Agra tomorrow, I'm excited to see the Taj Mahal!

xx