PUSHKAR TO JODPHUR

 No seriously guys, there's only one thing that quenches the thirst in such heat.

And you know what that is.

.......MY NAME IS TONY HEATH AND I AM NOT AN ALCOHOLIC ???..........

Haven't described the trip up here by "bus" from PUSHKAR.

Hell have those $&@@ers from the last hotel got some accounting to do!

I've gotta review their establishment soon on booking.com, which is going to be pretty scathing, but that was before they stuck me on a bus from hell for the 250 km,7 hour trip ( yes 7 hours).

When I booked it I thought ......shit that's really cheap?...... And actually said so and asked whether it was possible to get a more expensive option?( I mean who the $&@ poses such crazy questions)

Nope.... That was the way to go..... So who am I to argue????

So 6:15am sharp I'm at the "busstop" all raring to go.

Eventually I realise I'm the only "farang" on this decrepit old bus where I've commandeered the front seat with the spare tyre where my feet would normally go.That space turns out to be the baggage area ( on top of the spare) but it suits me as I can stretch my pins out a bit and read/ sleep.

Hah!!!!Must be $&&@ing joking!!!

I mean this  must've been the roughest ride I've endured since sitting in the back of a Bedford in the army up at the border.

The bus turned out to be a local one,taking a route along gravel tracks and unbelievably potholed narrow "tarmac" and basically stopping at every village en route to pick up/ offload all and sundry going anywhere between these two cities.

By around 11:30 I'd gone 6 hours without a leak and was reticent to take any water in case I needed to take a pee (at 63 our bladders aren't what they used to be 😬)

As a result I reckon I became a little dehydrated, resulting in a splitting headache.

There were a couple of arbitrary villages where it seemed people were getting off to relieve themselves , but I was shit scared to go looking and come back to find the bus gone with all my belongings !!! ......and me stuck in the middle of nowhere with bugger all .

Eventually, at one of the stops,I'd been humming and ahing at a stop and had braced myself to withstand just another hour or two when a guy with a wife and baby stepped out and headed for what must obviously be the toilet.

Reckoned if I followed him I should be safe as his wife would stop the driver.

So I beetled off after this guy and eventually came to what can only be described as a "pisshole".

One of these open air men's latrines with urine slo

pping around ones feet.

Oh well ..... Thank god I had my closed shoes on 😁

We eventually arrived at the outskirts of JODPHUR where I beat down a tuc tuc driver from 250 to 100 rupees for the 4 km ride through traffic to my new hotel.

And it turns out to be an absolute pleasure ( with beer😀)