India - first impressions

Hey all,

This is our sixth day traveling through India after a short stopover in Helsinki. Here are some first impressions:

Finnair: a lovely airline after years of flying RyanAir, they actually provide service. I was so ashamed at ordering another bottle of wine free of charge, it felt so naughty!!!
Helsinki: cute yet provincial, quite pleasant in summer but I would not for the life of me set foot there in winter
Mumbai: culture shock, too many people in too small an area. It could have been something but it just does not have enough enough architectural monuments and overall beauty to compensate for the pollution, dirt, stench and overpopulation. Although the dry rain was an interesting surprise...
Kalyan: hell on Earth, never in my life have I been stared that like that. You would think that the people there had seen caucasians before... I was so glad we did not have to spend the night there!!
Ahmedabad: dusty, sand everywhere, some cute mosques and temples but nothing really worth mentioning. Gujarati snacks are delicious however and the people were not as annoying as expected. Got wet all through though, thanks to a sneaky rainshower lurking behind all the buildings.
Udaipur: my first shower in three days!!!! Joy, utter joy. We met up with Felix and Annaig and strolled through this lovely little city and visited palace after palace. As the monsoon has only just started here, the lake was still quite empty. But no matter, the view from the roof terrace of our lovely hotel with its soft and comfy pillows to sit on and relax our feet after a long day's walk made up for a lot...
Chittorgarh: an amazing fort, but what a heat. The view from the Tower of Victory was magnificent, but oh that heat... Traveling by regular bus turns out to be quite comfy and so cheap, we will do that again!
Jodhpur: the silk route city famous for its antiques, textiles and spices. Its amazing fort of Meherangarh gives one a sniff of how the Maharadjas lived and worked. Gorgeous, and the fabrics... And another rooftop terrace with a view to a kill. And our first glass of wine in days!!!

Tomorrow, we are off to Jaisalmer and then we are going to North to Amritsar via Bikaner in the desert. Hope to be able to update again soon!

XXX, Fe