Today:

I got off the train in Jaipur. I had held back a little because it seemed like I was the only woman on the train, and I didn’t feel really graceful climbing down from the top bunk.

As soon as I walked off the train this young guy came up to me and said, “You want a prepaid auto?” I looked at him suspiciously. He asked where I was going. I told him. He said, “Ok, 20 rupees.” Well, that means that either he was trying to sucker me into something, or the place was in walking distance. I decided to take him up on the offer. I had to pee so bad I didn’t care if it was three feet away, as long as I got there quick and I was willing to pay 20 rupees to get there fast.

As we started walking he asked, “Is your name Katherine?”
I said, “No,” thinking that was a funny way to start a conversation with someone you just met at the train station.
He said, “Oh, what is it?” (Like big surprise, it’s not Katherine!)
I said, “Shannon.”
He said, “Oh, Shannon. You just came from Udaipur.”
I was mildly surprised, until I remembered that I just got off the train from Udaipur, so of course he would know I just came from Udaipur.
Then he said, “You live in Bangalore and work at Microsoft, you will go to Delhi next.”
At that point I began to wonder what exactly was going on.

He said, “I talked to Jamil” (my driver in Udaipur) “he’s my friend and he told me you were coming here.” Oh- well, it’s a small India after all then isn’t it?

So Janu- my new driver who knew everything about me took me to my hotel- then he offered to take me wherever I wanted to go. Since the whole hiring a driver thing had gone quite well in Udaipur, I took him up on it.

Janu had me read his volumes upon volumes of “your great!” books that other tourists had signed for him. He showed me his vacation pictures, he told me all about his friends and family and he showed me around town.

His moto: “No hurry, no worry, no chicken curry.”

Great, good thing I don’t eat chicken.

The thing I might be sorry for later:

I made the most costly impulse buy ever- ever- ever

I bought a silk hand knotted carpet. Pricy. Dummy- now I have to carry this heavy carpet around the rest of vacation. Oh- but it is so pretty and soft and aside from my concern that it’s not real silk I love it and it is worth the hassle and the pricy price.

If it’s a hoax and not a real silk carpet it was very elaborate setup. He showed me how they make the carpets on the loom (he let me tie a knot on one carpet, so he could “tell the buy that a beautiful woman helped make the carpet.”) He showed me pictures of the dying process for the wool and silk. Then he took me across the street where they wash and comb and clip the carpets- then he took me to his show room and showed me about 20 carpets until I picked one.

It wasn’t a total impulse buy, I have been eyeballing silk carpets since I got here, but I really had no intention of actually buying one while on vacation.

Well, there it is, me and my magic carpet all around north India for the next week and a half.

Would love to talk about yesterday in Udaipur, but I’m starving and I think the restaurant is going to close in a few minutes.