Today, I'm over it

I'm totally over it today. You know how some days you're fine and then the next day, even the tiniest little thing is so abrasive it feels like sandpaper rubbing against your skin? Today is one of those days.

To wit: I got caught in a monsoon dump at lunchtime. I got muck splashed all over my pants when I took shelter under a tarpaulin roof. One of the holy cows headbutted me (it's supposed to be good luck, but really it was just painful - they have massive horns). My travelling companions are getting right on my nerves. The tuk-tuk driver took me a merry dance all over town except for in the direction of my hotel and he would NOT stop and ask for directions - something to do with male pride, no doubt, it's good to see that men all over the world are the same when it comes to being unable to stop and ask for directions - and then threw a fit when I wouldn't pay him his exorbitantly raised price which had somehow increased from the amount we agreed on at the start. I have started experiencing agonising waves of slow stomach cramps which I just know are the onset of Delhi Belly; which means I'll spend the night in the bathroom and then I have to face a long trip tomorrow afternoon by public bus which isn't going to want to stop every half hour so I can go to the toilet in the dust outside with the entire bus population of Indian men staring at me. Sigh.

Sigh again.

Tomorrow morning, with any luck, I will go and see Jodhpur. Home of the famous riding breeches; home of the breathtaking Meragaragh Fort, home of the blue houses. Originally it was only the members of the highest caste, the Brahmins, who painted their houses blue; but now just about everybody does. Mixing indigo dye in with the whitewash is said to be a good insect repellent – whether or not that works, I don't know. It certainly makes for a very pretty town, though I'm entirely unable to appreciate it right now. Damn town.

Perhaps the only thing that will cheer me up is Jodhpur's famous makhlani lassi – a sweet yogurt drink flavoured with saffron and spices. It's thick, creamy, and just about everything you need in a meal. Except, what is the point when I know it's just going to increase my ahem, abdominal distress??

You know it's a bad day when even the best lassi in the world won't cheer you up.

Sigh.