Car Accident, Anokhi Textiles, and Scary Monkeys

Today was quite an interesting day in Jaipur, and definitely jam packed with a lot of interesting sights. On the way to our first stop, we actually got into a car accident! We were bound to see one considering the pandemonium that is the driving here, but we didn’t think we’d be a part of the first one we saw. Basically what happened was we were stuck behind a truck, and our driver honked at him to move over (because that’s what they do here), and when the truck did move there was another car stuck in the road with a flat tire that suddenly appeared. The driver tried slowing down but couldn’t fast enough so we hit a small car that was packed with a lot of people. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but it was actually really interested to see the people here react to a car accident. It was similar to home where everyone groups together and looks at the damage, but more people would stop to see what was going on, it was pretty insane. Devraj finally settled the whole thing by giving them 4000 rupees, which is about $80… can you believe that! They thought that amount would cover their damage, which included a blown out back windshield and a dented back bumper and trunk door. I guess that’s India for ya!
Our first stop was a place called Anokhi Farms, which was a big textile factory in India. We got to see how prints are made and manufactured into different items of clothing, bedding, and more. Everything was so beautiful and it all looked like stuff from stores like Anthropologie and Free People, which is so expensive at home. Most of the girls on the trip absolutely loved what we saw, so they told us where their main store was in Jaipur to go shopping later in the day. It was so amazing to see how these textiles were made. In America we rarely think about how our goods are actually made, so it made us all appreciate the clothes we love so much a little bit more.
After that we went to the Galtaji Temple, which is also known as the monkey temple. It was a beautiful Hindu temple built into mountains where people could bath and be blessed by a priest, which we all decided to do. He gave us these strings that he tied around our wrists that are supposed to bring you good luck and prosperity. The string is actually really cool and is like a nice souvenir I’ll get to bring back from the trip. The temple also had tons of monkeys which were a little scary, but exciting to see. We were told they’re very mischievous monkeys so everyone was nervous their stuff was going to be stolen. Hal’s (our Professor on the trip) shoes were actually being taken by some monkeys but Emily managed to track them down. The whole experience was frightening and enjoyable at the same time! After that we went to another Hindu temple in a small village on the way back. The area we were in was very rural and the temple had amazing views of it all.
Finally we had a chance to go to the Anokhi store. I was seriously in heaven in this store. We were warned that the store was going to be expensive, but it was so reasonably priced compared to the same stuff you can get at home. I bought a queen size quilt for my bed in addition to a few other things. The quilt cost the equivalent of about $60, and the same quilt would probably cost $300 at home. I am totally obsessed with this quilt, I can’t wait to bring it home! At this point I started feeling very lightheaded, so I got a little juice and ate a few bites of a luna bar. A got myself feeling a little better to go to a bazaar where Jackie, Jess, Elyse, and I were determined to find elephant pants. They’re these cool pants that kind of look like skirts when you where them. The bazaar was a bit overwhelming, but we had a mission, and we each bought 2 pairs of pants that we’re all excited to where!
We got back to the hotel after a great day, but I still wasn’t feeling 100% so I decided to skip dinner to lie down. I think I probably didn’t eat enough throughout the day, but I was nauseous so it was difficult for me to eat. I feel like I’ll be better tomorrow though after a good night of sleep! It sticks I missed dinner tonight, and I was supposed to see a Bollywood movie in the theaters, but it was more important for me to get better for the rest of the trip. Hopefully whatever is wrong with me passes soon, because I’m in India! I don’t want to miss out on anything else!