Seat of Our Pants

Our Lonely Planet guidebook said that “people bring their possessed loved ones (to this temple) to have bad spirits exorcised” and that “the street outside feels like it’s hosting a Hindu rave.” Sounds like an amazing place to see, right?

The temple they referred to was in Balaji, just three hours drive from Jaipur. We had a half day to spare (we’d already shopped until our bags were stuffed), so off to Balaji we went.

Was it the quintessential Indian experience (the one that has alluded us, though we’ve gone to all the hot spots)? Well, no. It was rather more sterile than we expected. There was no rave. There were no “possessed” people; just a well formed (if somewhat uncomfortable looking) line of people waiting to enter the temple.

So, with our hopes of fitting in a last minute intense Indian experience dashed, all that was left to do was shop. So, shop we did. We’ll be seeing friends and family members in a week and our gift list is long.

Balaji shopping

Unless you don’t mind standing in a Disneyland-style line while 300 Indians push you from behind, we’d suggest giving this town a miss.

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