Tuesday
I started the day with visiting the city palace of Udiapur wich was really beautiful and farytale-like. There was a rooom perfect for the H C Andersen tale of the Nightingale, and another that looked like it belonged in the tale of the Flying Suitcase. Bouth farytales are highly recommended by yours truely! Sightseeing, no matter how interesting, can be quite exhausting, and I think that is was provided me with the meanest headake in ages throughout the afternoon. When you have such a headake, and all you want to do is get back to your hotel and lie down, nothing is worse than percistant salesmen saying "hallo!" "How are you?" "Wich coutry ma'm?"
- Pleace! I am exhausted! My head is pounding! Just, for once, let me pass without all the hassel! But no...

I this was what finally made me grow a little tired of India. The cultue in different parts of India varies, in the north it strikes me as a lot more agressive than further south... Later that night the main question was what to do after Udiapur. I felt tired of Rajastan, tired of the salesmen, and ready for somethnig new. The girl from America I had been sightseeing with had spent a lot of time in the far north, and I started considering going there. It would be intersting to see what India was like up there, and I am going to Shimla (north) to vistit a girl guide anyway... Choises!

Wednsday
I woke up thinking that I'd spent my last nigt in Udiaour, and would leave the same afternoon. I started packing so I could check out by 10, but as I put my things together I realized how stressfull it would be to go so far north as I had been considering. And what did I want there anyway? To study yoga? That is the main thing people do up north. No: Back to the original plan of Mt. Abu in Rajastan. This gave me another night in Udiapur, so I had the whole day to relax, read and wirte my jurnal. I thought!

I went down to the shore of the lake and read for a while. On my way I was invited in to a womans house for Chai (tea with spices, sugar and milk). She introdused me to her two newly married and both pregnet sisters, and one ran to get a fourth sister. This fourth sister sold handbags, it turned out, that the children in the family would sitch in the evenings. She wanted me to buy, but after looking for a bit I asked a price that was lower that she would take, and I got out of the situation.

When reading by the lake, a guy came up and asked where I was from (as always). I answered, and politely asked him to let me read. He so did, but he kept quite near, so the minute I finished, he was back. So, we talked. It turned out to be a really interesting talk, maybe inspired by the fact that I had been reading my Bible... We talked about our views of life, religion, happiness, what is good and what is holy. It was quite interesting, and when we finally broke off it was because I was so hugry I couldn't consentrate.

On my way to get lunch I was (as always) invited for Chai, this time by a guy in a shop I had inteded to buy a skirt from. So, why not? Well, we also ended up talking for a couple of hours, about life, religion, marriage, thrust and fidility. He said that if he got married it would be the same as just having daal every day for the rest of his life. He would rather have Talis (a mixture of different dishes). In the end I think we concluded that that was the main difference between us, though I can think of a few more :) Finally I got some food, and time to read. Having a pair of deacent conversations helped India grow a little on me again, so I not so tired fo the country anymore. By the way, I did go back for my skirt (and I didn't have to bargin!)

Thursday
Up at 06.30, a quick breakfast and a bumpy bussride for 7 hours taking me to Mt. Abu. Population unknown (my guidebook is in my room). A rather small hill station with a nice lake and (hopefully) some good areas to walk. A lot of Indian touists here, not as much hassel as Udiapur, but we still draw a salesman or two.

After arriving in the rather mouldy smelling hotel, I took a walk with Lauren (from the USA, she decided to come to Mt. Abu as well). We went to a place called Brahma Kumaris Ishwaria Vishwa Vidyalaya, or the univercity of Peace. Their philosophy is that all religions are testemonies of the same supreme god, yet they expect a paradice ruled by a pair of hindu gods. Most of what they had to say I could agree with, but at some point it all was too relative for me. Lauren is going to check out their yoga class. I might join, just to see. Play Arild Romarhein for a little while ;)