so amusing first. i went to the train station to make a reservation for my train tonight. first i went to the inquiry desk, to find out what train i actually wanted because in order to get a train ticket reservation you must fill out a form. so once i had figured that out i went into the actual reservation room. there are always loads of signs about queuing (only it usually just says "Q") - a throw back from the days of british rule, i imagine. and there are benches, which have numbers painted on the backrest. people are sitting in the first 2 rows. then in the third row is one guy sitting way down at one end and a woman sitting at the other end. so i sit behind the woman, in the seat with the number after hers, and wait. then a man from one of the first 2 rows indicates to me that i should be sitting in next to the man and the far end. so i check with the woman and she is not actually in the Q. so i slide in. and people are being helped at the windows. and as people leave the man is making sure that we are all moving forward to the next number seat everytime someone goes to the window. and all i can think about through all this is the mad hatter's tea party....
so the annoying experience (and this is by no means the only one i had yesterday, my days are filled with them). i went to the maharaja's palace. i bought my ticket and went in through the outer gates. to my right i see a place to deposit your camera. and i'm thinking to myself 'why on earth would i want to deposit my camera?'. and i wander the grounds a little bit. take some photos. then i head for the entrance to the actual palace. just before the entrance there was a shoe check counter. so i take off my flip flops and pay my 50 paise to have them kept behind the counter while i go into the palace. not so surprising, india is a very shoes optional kind of place. at the entrance to the palace is a metal detector and some security guys. so i walk through and they look in my bag and tell me no cameras. i must put it in the camera depository. so i trudge back to the entrance - barefoot - to check in my camera for another 5 rupees (why they don't have some sort of sign to the effect of "if you're going in the palace, you must check your camera" i'll never understand). so back to the entrance of the palace, feet thoroughly filthy at this point, and the security guard now wants to see my key from the camera check - because i'm probably lying and just tucked the camera deeper in my bag....
anyway. the palace was really quite cool. beautiful stained glass, great tiles on the floor, intricately carved wood and silver doors, and many portraits of indian royalty. i wander through and am only harassed a couple of times. once i'm back outside the palace i'm ushered towards a museum, which my book describes as "disappointing". but i thought it was included in the ticket, so off i went. but no. so i started looking for the shoe check counter. i wandered, and wandered. found some elephants and camels wandering in a bit of the gardens.... and eventually found my shoes. and then i went to retreive my camera.
i wanted to take a few more pictures, so i went around to the front of the palace. the sky was starting to get dark and then it began to rain. i took cover under part of the palace where i imagine that the maharaja might sit to address the people. and many other people are taking cover there as well. i sit myself near a family (always a better chance i won't get harassed) and begin to write in my journal. so i can see this kid out of the corner of my eye, standing about 5 feet from me and just watching. i was still wearing my hat, which limits eye contact, and therefore unwanted conversation. but i can see this boy moving closer. and soon he is standing right next to me while i scribble madly in my journal, hoping to be left alone. eventually i let him ask me the usual questions (what's your name? what is your country?) and i continue writing. then he's got a small gang of his friends/siblings/whatever standing next to me. one girl asks me what i'm writing and i explain what a journal is. she starts to read over my shoulder and then i have to explain it's private.
a series of creepy men also came and sat beside me (have never been so happy to have my hat on, pulled down low). after i'd written all that i possibly could in my journal and it was still raining i pulled out my guidebook and began reading through that. i had one obnoxious guy who was reading over my shoulder, shouting out phrases from what i was reading. "chinese fishing nets" "kathakali dance". very annoying. eventually the rain stopped and i was able to escape.
i think the most annoying thing about india is all the hassle. i just can't understand... i mean, i know maybe a lot of indians have never seen a white person, and it's quite interesting, and maybe they want to have a bit of a stare. sure, whatever, the japanese are quite fascinated as well. but surely there are americans who have never seen an indian person, and if they saw one in their town they might stare a bit. but i just can't imagine them reading over this persons shoulder, crowding around them, asking to take a photo of them. i'm really at a loss to describe the behavior here.
anyway. so i've got to get a train to bangalore now where i'll change trains and attempt sleep on a train bunk en route to cochin.
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