India, Day 5, Part 2: "I've got too much India between my toes."

One of my main regrets from my last trip to India was that I didn't bring enough money to buy a rug.  Did you know that it's cheaper to fly to India, buy a rug, and fly home than to buy an oriental rug in the US?  A nice rug, I mean, not those Pottery Barn ones that look cool but shed all over the place.  Our first shopping stop in Jaipur?  A rug factory, of course.

First they hand knot it, which can take weeks, months or years depending on the quality of the rug.

Then they burn the backside to get all the stray fluff off...

...they take a scissors to it to get it the right length...

...they wash it...

...and finally, the fringed ends.

And then the buying frenzy began.  The sales guys brought out food and refreshments, which today included veggie samosas and rum-and-cokes, not the best combo on the tummy but great for impulse buying.  I bought one rug, some people didn't get any, and some bought three or four.  Several made emergency phone calls to the husbands to making sure the purchase was okay.  I did not, as David trusts me completely.  Right, honey?  : )

I packed my rug up in a carry-on size bag and took it with me (this detail will become relevant later), but you can have it shipped anywhere in the world, too.

The next stop was a jewelry place, but they didn't do as well with our group, we were already starting to suffer the effects of a shopping hangover.  I did manage to find a ring that I wanted, and... aces!  They were able to re-cast it in gold instead of silver, and promised it to be delivered to my hotel first thing the next morning.  What service.

Next, McDonald's.  It's cheap, safe (if you don't forget to ask for no ice with your coke), and we needed energy.

But this being India, this was the scene right across the shiny new mall that housed the McDonald's.

I'd guess about 40 people or so lived here.

Afterward, we entered the walled part of Jaipur, the reason that this place is called The Pink City.  It's more of a terra cotta, really, but you get the idea.

Here, we loaded up on copper pots, which may not seem that exciting, but at a mere $5 a pot, the cooks among us were thrilled.  We'd figure out how to get around the 20kg baggage limit later.

Wherever we went, we were always being watched.  "Indian men have a staring problem." was the first quote of the day from Kay.

This is a common sight:  A two-year-old riding between her parents as their motorcycle dodged through traffic.  FYI, it's only required by the law that the drivers to wear helmets, not the passengers, even if they're little kids.

We had to cross the street to get to our next destination.  Which doesn't seem like it would be a big deal in itself, but this is India.  Turn up the volume to get the full effect, and double points if you spot the cow at the end.

The only thing missing from this video is Smell-O-Vision: the roadside food, the cow and camel poo, the exhaust.

After a rickshaw ride back to the bus, several of the ladies from our group stopped again when they spotted a place that sold old cricket bats, and starting loading up. "More shopping, oh my god..." was the next quote of the day from Vikram. Dusty and tired, we headed back to our hotel.  "I've got too much India between my toes." was the last quote from someone else in our group.  We had to be up bright and early at 5:30am the next day, enough time to get back to Dehli and have time enough for shopping there, too.  Believe it or not, I was actually almost shopped out.  Almost.