taking it easy

taking it easy
Originally uploaded by lamoney.

This weekend I headed off to Jaipur, Rajashtan, which is about 5 hours drive from Delhi. Went there with Kate & Ruth from my house. The bus trip over was pretty average….freezing cold, 11.30pm – 4.30am, the usual cramped seats and terrifying driving. After a while you learn you're better off not watching where you are going. Jaipur itself though was good. They have several great old forts and palaces, a beautiful walled city and some interesting temples. And hordes of monkeys on their roofs.

There are a few photos available here. It's hard to get a sense of how much colour is around, in people's clothes, the temples, the filth, the animals.

Our bus to Jaipur left at about 11.30 at night. Getting around Delhi that late is tough. Its freezing cold (last night it was 3 degrees) and the rickshaws are completely open so you need to rug up. And its dark. And everyone has their higbeams on. Trying to catch a rickshaw on the side of the highway watching the headlights come through the massive haze of pollution, listening to the din of horns and the noise of the city, seeing another person sleeping on the sidewalk every few metres, you worry that this is where most cities will probably end up. It really is not a good place to be at night.

I am amazed not at how many people are sleeping on the streets (I was expecting that) but on how they manage to survive through the night in this sort of weather. I'm going to bed in a jumper with a few blankets in a house, and am still cold. They're on the street with an old blanket if they're lucky.

Anyway back to Jaipur. The whole place was a bit of a zoo really - monkeys, chipmunks, geckos, camels, elephants, dogs, cats, cows, pigeons, eagles,mice, rats, horses - saw all of them within a couple of days. I think most of India is probably similar in that regard. Hundreds of animals just wandering the streets, except for the elephants, which are, luckily, generally being ridden.

While there I was served a very strange panner curry. Paneer is a type of cheese that many Indians eat as a meat substitute, in the same way we might eat tofu. This paneer curry was strange because in the middle of it all was a huge block of butter, sitting there melting into the rest of the dish. I don't mind butter but halfway through the meals I was eating spoonfuls of the stuff and it was just disgusting. I think its a bit of a luxury meal here as I was charged about twice as much as I expected for it.

Work has been going well. I've been designing posters, invites and press releases for a comic exhibition and workshop we are holding in January. A famous Belgian artist, Etienne Schreder, is coming down to train Indian illustrators. Also we are bringing out a book on child rights which I'll be doing some editing on which should be interesting.

Anyway hope everyone is kicking along ok back home.