Thursday 3rd April - visit to a local primary school & train to Jaipur

Mel had been looking forward to this day since we booked the trip - a visit to a local, rural primary school. It was as good as we had hoped for - a short camel ride there (all on the back of a trailer) and then the opportunity to meet loads of village schoolchildren in their classroom. We had brought a load of biros (kindly donated by Lisa Collins) and sweets, and these went down a treat. A great memory for the kids, and part of what this trip is about. After lunch we headed for the station to catch the 3 hour train to Jaipur. The station itself was fine, not too shabby, but we quickly became the main attraction, as the platform area around us quickly filled up with locals gawping at us. The four of us were in first class (normal seats really) while the rest of the group were in second (the 3 tier sleeper we took the other day). This was because we had booked the trip so late and they couldn't get us in the same carriage, so they upgraded us. The journey flew by, as Mel and I were able to chill out while the kids watched yet another DVD. Arrival in Jaipur was fine, not too oppressive at the station, but the bus journey to the hotel was interesting....
We were just about to pull into our hotel (on the opposite side of the road) and the driver needed to pull a 3 point turn. We ended up having a small bump with an impatient car, and as we straddled both lanes, caused the most almighty traffic jam as the drivers shouted at each other. Quite hilarious. Hotel was a "heritage" hotel - ie. knackered. Room OK and a relief compared to Ranthambore. Ved wanted to go and see a temple and go out for dinner, but the mutineers got the better of him as we knocked that plan on the head very quickly and ate in the hotel. When I say ate, I am talking about the others, as I had been struck with the dreaded Delhi Belly - a world of trouble for the next 2 days...