Day Four: around Jaipur, the forts, sight seeing, elephants, monkeys, and the fucking cobra.
So, my trusty side kick for the day, Irfan, came by in the morning and we went out for the day. The idea being to find a motorcyle for rent for the coming week. But I figured a day in Jaipur wouldn't be a bad thing, plus I had to move to the next night's hotel, which I'd booked through AirBnB. Turned out to be very nice, but not worth twice the price of the previous night's hotel, which was excellent and only $12. But I'm learning that prices kinda fluctuate here, depending on the mood of who's selling, how much they think they can get, and a host of other factors.
Anyway, it was nice. Photos to come. In fact I'm inclined to think photos tell so much more than mere words. I wonder what great travel writers of the past, such as Orwell and Durrell would have done had they had 21st century technology. I suppose hyperlinks in Down and Out in Paris And London wouldn't quite be the same. Imagine Jack Kerouac with the occasional ad for Barclays Bank credit card?
Anyway. The hotel was nice, and I dumped my stuff. I was free to explore the place. First was a trip to the forts. Gotta say, the Amber Fort in Jaipur is quite magnificent. From the road, the two forts look like something from Game of Thrones. I learned a bit of the history of the Rajes, who were pretty much highly paid crooks serving the British. Mafia, pretty much.it would seem.
I met my first elephants. Giant buggers, and quite gorgeous in their makeup. They eat 800 kilos of food a day! (I'll verify that later) and so the cost is enormous. Might take a ride when I'm in Jaipur next week as I'll be returning the bike here.
Speaking of bikes, I found one, which Irfan took me to see. I'm pretty sure he gets commission from vendors when he takes people places. That's how it works here. Lots of hustling, deals, obligation, harrassment to make a few rupees. Not sure I could stand it for long.
So the bike was a Royal Enfield classic 500. Covered in grime and oil. Didn't look too good. Apart from not being the bike I really wanted (I'm after the Thunderbird, since it has an extra seat and looks better for carrying bags, plus it's a nice cruiser style with sit up and beg handlebars. But I took it for a spin, the first time I'd ridden a proper motorcycle since 1979. I have to say, it was a tad daunting to get on a bike after all that time. I was dreading making a complete arse of myself. But I did OK. I drove up the road in traffic, I turned around, I came back. I stopped. But it wasn't the bike for me if I could help it. I wanted to look elsewhere, and I did.
In the meantime, I had lunch at a grubby little place Irfan recommended which turned out to be OK. Had something I had no idea what I was ordering, couldn't pronounce it, but it was food. Didn't drink the water.
Then it was time to head to the next bike, but I overhead someone talking about the monkey temple. So reluctantly, and I'm not sure why, Irfan took me to the monkey temple, where I met the very pushy and demanding Ram, who insisted on taking me up and "protecting me" from the monkeys. How he was going to do that was a mystery. And it still is. Did he offer some guarantee? Would I be able to sue him, should the need arise? Somehow, I think any assets seized after successful litigantion wouldn't have proved all that fruitful.
Anyway. Ram took me up to see the monkeys. And the fucking cobra.
You know how it is when you know you're likely stepping out of your comfort zone just a tad too far? I suppose it's when you encounter someone who's plainly manic, plus monkeys, plus snakes so deadly their venom can kill ten people or one elephant with a single bite? Well that's how it was.
So Ram says it would be a good idea to see some guy's cobra which he gets out from under a tarp I presume is his home, and shoves the damn thing on a wall and takes it out of a box. Fair enough. Deadly snake is in his hands. He strokes it up against his face, I assume to assert his own bravado and masculinity, then shoves the fucking thing on my head.
Gotta say, I froze. Then, Ram decides he has no idea how to operate my phone's camera, and I stand there like a tramatized lemon for what feels like an eternity with a sodding live cobra on my bonce.
In retrospect, it's a great story. Not much fun at the time, I tells ya. But what we do for a story, eh?
Then of course I have to negotiate the fee for the proceedings. Ram, insistent that it was a once in a lifetime experience to have a monkey sit on my head, then a live cobra, felt it was well worth in excess of 2000 rupees. I decided it wasn't, although I confess it was and still is a good story, especially since I do have the video to show it.
In the end he got a $20 bill and the assurance he could change it at any bank.
He can't, at least without a passport. But it's still $20.
Then, off to see the bike. And I have to say it turned out to be perfect. Exactly the bike I was looking for (well, technically I was looking for a 500 and it's a 350, but what the hell. It's a nice bike, it's blue, it's nearly new, and it's well maintained. For 1400 rupees a day I have the bucket list item of the India Bike Trip.
Didn't pick it up, though, as there's still more fun to be had in Jaipuer. The road trip will start tomorrow.
But I've been thinking (I'm now at home, back in Santa Fe, mid April) that the dynamics of relationships are what interest me. Here I am now, back in Santa Fe, and wondering about what I'm going to do next, and I'm reflecting on the India trip, and some of the relationships I had while I was away. I didn't get to know anyone all that well, but there was something in the relationships that told me about what was happening, and what I could learn.
Ram, for instance.
So I got to know this guy for about 30 minutes. In that time, he offered me peanuts, which I thought he was selling me as food, but I got it that they were for the monkeys. So he had his little tourist business, first of all making a little profit from the nuts. Then, he takes me up to see the monkeys, selling the idea that the monkeys are dangerous, and he's necessary to "protect" me from them. So that in itself is good value, I'm to believe.
Then, he sells his services to the snake guy, and he knows he'll get a cut. He's offering his own services "pay what you will", but he's hinting that others pay 2000 rupees, which is ridiculous. But of course some people will be taken in by that. They'll think it's a bargain, or they'll feel sorry for him, or they'll think he's expensive. But they'll part with their money, because he's found a way through and is able to sell himself well.
And then I part with money, and he wants more. And the snake guy is dumping guilt, because I haven't parted with enough money. And Ram is now deciding that I'm his best friend, and he wants me to meet his family, and have birthday cake, and be his best friend. And, oddly, it all feels quite nice.
But I have to resist, of course, because this isn't a path I'm interested in taking. I don't want to go there, because I have other things to do. But it was interesting, looking at his motive, and his insistence, and his value, and my value, and the whole dynamic between us. And this is one of the very interesting things you get from visiting a place like India, where everyone wants to know you and be your friend.
It's because what you can give them.
You have value in India, because you are a source of wealth and power. People love you and will give and give, because they want something in return. They'll be friendly, generous, entertaining, helpful, kind, magnanimous, humble, the lot. Just the way I am with clients I think I might get something from.
So is this the basis of all relationships? Is this the dynamic that's set up between everyone? We have value, and you don't? Is that it? If I rack my brains and think about all the relationships I have, is there any one that isn't based on the give/take thing? Even my parents?
I think it really is the way things are. I enjoyed being generous in India, because people liked me that much more. I had better service when I was generous. People were there on time. People treated me like a VIP. I was able to win their following by being a source of everything to them. I was the wealthy American tourist with the expensive watch. I was the foreigner who could help them get to America.
And so, by not needing to play that game, I am really in my power when I'm not bothered about people and their wealth. When I know I have something, and don't need to advertise it or give it away.
Ram called me a few times, since he got my phone number out of me, after great insistence. I didn't bother to call him back. And why not? Because I don't need him. Tbere's nothing he has that I need, so why would I?
And that's the way things are in life. It's a harsh fact of life that the relationships we have are with people we need, for one or another reason. Even if it's simply to be needed, it's why we have relationships.
Anyway, it was nice. Photos to come. In fact I'm inclined to think photos tell so much more than mere words. I wonder what great travel writers of the past, such as Orwell and Durrell would have done had they had 21st century technology. I suppose hyperlinks in Down and Out in Paris And London wouldn't quite be the same. Imagine Jack Kerouac with the occasional ad for Barclays Bank credit card?
Anyway. The hotel was nice, and I dumped my stuff. I was free to explore the place. First was a trip to the forts. Gotta say, the Amber Fort in Jaipur is quite magnificent. From the road, the two forts look like something from Game of Thrones. I learned a bit of the history of the Rajes, who were pretty much highly paid crooks serving the British. Mafia, pretty much.it would seem.
I met my first elephants. Giant buggers, and quite gorgeous in their makeup. They eat 800 kilos of food a day! (I'll verify that later) and so the cost is enormous. Might take a ride when I'm in Jaipur next week as I'll be returning the bike here.
Speaking of bikes, I found one, which Irfan took me to see. I'm pretty sure he gets commission from vendors when he takes people places. That's how it works here. Lots of hustling, deals, obligation, harrassment to make a few rupees. Not sure I could stand it for long.
So the bike was a Royal Enfield classic 500. Covered in grime and oil. Didn't look too good. Apart from not being the bike I really wanted (I'm after the Thunderbird, since it has an extra seat and looks better for carrying bags, plus it's a nice cruiser style with sit up and beg handlebars. But I took it for a spin, the first time I'd ridden a proper motorcycle since 1979. I have to say, it was a tad daunting to get on a bike after all that time. I was dreading making a complete arse of myself. But I did OK. I drove up the road in traffic, I turned around, I came back. I stopped. But it wasn't the bike for me if I could help it. I wanted to look elsewhere, and I did.
In the meantime, I had lunch at a grubby little place Irfan recommended which turned out to be OK. Had something I had no idea what I was ordering, couldn't pronounce it, but it was food. Didn't drink the water.
Then it was time to head to the next bike, but I overhead someone talking about the monkey temple. So reluctantly, and I'm not sure why, Irfan took me to the monkey temple, where I met the very pushy and demanding Ram, who insisted on taking me up and "protecting me" from the monkeys. How he was going to do that was a mystery. And it still is. Did he offer some guarantee? Would I be able to sue him, should the need arise? Somehow, I think any assets seized after successful litigantion wouldn't have proved all that fruitful.
Anyway. Ram took me up to see the monkeys. And the fucking cobra.
You know how it is when you know you're likely stepping out of your comfort zone just a tad too far? I suppose it's when you encounter someone who's plainly manic, plus monkeys, plus snakes so deadly their venom can kill ten people or one elephant with a single bite? Well that's how it was.
So Ram says it would be a good idea to see some guy's cobra which he gets out from under a tarp I presume is his home, and shoves the damn thing on a wall and takes it out of a box. Fair enough. Deadly snake is in his hands. He strokes it up against his face, I assume to assert his own bravado and masculinity, then shoves the fucking thing on my head.
Gotta say, I froze. Then, Ram decides he has no idea how to operate my phone's camera, and I stand there like a tramatized lemon for what feels like an eternity with a sodding live cobra on my bonce.
In retrospect, it's a great story. Not much fun at the time, I tells ya. But what we do for a story, eh?
Then of course I have to negotiate the fee for the proceedings. Ram, insistent that it was a once in a lifetime experience to have a monkey sit on my head, then a live cobra, felt it was well worth in excess of 2000 rupees. I decided it wasn't, although I confess it was and still is a good story, especially since I do have the video to show it.
In the end he got a $20 bill and the assurance he could change it at any bank.
He can't, at least without a passport. But it's still $20.
Then, off to see the bike. And I have to say it turned out to be perfect. Exactly the bike I was looking for (well, technically I was looking for a 500 and it's a 350, but what the hell. It's a nice bike, it's blue, it's nearly new, and it's well maintained. For 1400 rupees a day I have the bucket list item of the India Bike Trip.
Didn't pick it up, though, as there's still more fun to be had in Jaipuer. The road trip will start tomorrow.
But I've been thinking (I'm now at home, back in Santa Fe, mid April) that the dynamics of relationships are what interest me. Here I am now, back in Santa Fe, and wondering about what I'm going to do next, and I'm reflecting on the India trip, and some of the relationships I had while I was away. I didn't get to know anyone all that well, but there was something in the relationships that told me about what was happening, and what I could learn.
Ram, for instance.
So I got to know this guy for about 30 minutes. In that time, he offered me peanuts, which I thought he was selling me as food, but I got it that they were for the monkeys. So he had his little tourist business, first of all making a little profit from the nuts. Then, he takes me up to see the monkeys, selling the idea that the monkeys are dangerous, and he's necessary to "protect" me from them. So that in itself is good value, I'm to believe.
Then, he sells his services to the snake guy, and he knows he'll get a cut. He's offering his own services "pay what you will", but he's hinting that others pay 2000 rupees, which is ridiculous. But of course some people will be taken in by that. They'll think it's a bargain, or they'll feel sorry for him, or they'll think he's expensive. But they'll part with their money, because he's found a way through and is able to sell himself well.
And then I part with money, and he wants more. And the snake guy is dumping guilt, because I haven't parted with enough money. And Ram is now deciding that I'm his best friend, and he wants me to meet his family, and have birthday cake, and be his best friend. And, oddly, it all feels quite nice.
But I have to resist, of course, because this isn't a path I'm interested in taking. I don't want to go there, because I have other things to do. But it was interesting, looking at his motive, and his insistence, and his value, and my value, and the whole dynamic between us. And this is one of the very interesting things you get from visiting a place like India, where everyone wants to know you and be your friend.
It's because what you can give them.
You have value in India, because you are a source of wealth and power. People love you and will give and give, because they want something in return. They'll be friendly, generous, entertaining, helpful, kind, magnanimous, humble, the lot. Just the way I am with clients I think I might get something from.
So is this the basis of all relationships? Is this the dynamic that's set up between everyone? We have value, and you don't? Is that it? If I rack my brains and think about all the relationships I have, is there any one that isn't based on the give/take thing? Even my parents?
I think it really is the way things are. I enjoyed being generous in India, because people liked me that much more. I had better service when I was generous. People were there on time. People treated me like a VIP. I was able to win their following by being a source of everything to them. I was the wealthy American tourist with the expensive watch. I was the foreigner who could help them get to America.
And so, by not needing to play that game, I am really in my power when I'm not bothered about people and their wealth. When I know I have something, and don't need to advertise it or give it away.
Ram called me a few times, since he got my phone number out of me, after great insistence. I didn't bother to call him back. And why not? Because I don't need him. Tbere's nothing he has that I need, so why would I?
And that's the way things are in life. It's a harsh fact of life that the relationships we have are with people we need, for one or another reason. Even if it's simply to be needed, it's why we have relationships.
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