Nicole, a good friend, introduced her sister, Tanya, to Carly. She thought they would have a lot in common, and they do! Tanya lived in Tel Aviv and Nicole knew Carly was going to be moving there at some point in time in the future. And, although they get on well, they have a lot of differences. All that Carly can remember from that first meeting at a trendy restaurant in Tel Aviv was that she could hardly hear anything. This was because of the extremely loud and very lousy music. But this is very much Tanya’s vibe, so they chose to differ on this. Tanya was forever suggesting that Carly joins her on some all-night dancing rave. But then they both remember that very first meeting. Not only would the music be too loud but dancing all night – too reminiscent of her days as a junior doctor having to stay awake all night. “No thanks” thinks Carly. They will have to go their separate ways on that one.
Of course, to be such good friends they do have lots of other things in common. They both have grey hair. Is this binding for them? Probably not. Carly’s is rarely just grey. Normally lots of other colours in the red-blue spectrum are involved. But Tanya likes hers just plain grey. Actually, it is almost a goldenly type of grey. This meant when they went to the Alpaca Farm for a short holiday, they had to very carefully choose the colour order of the undyed alpaca yarn for the stripey jumper Carly was going to knit for Tanya. Tanya did not want her hair to look yellowish against the cream. It seemed best for the top of the jumper to be black and then gradually go through various greys to a cream at the base. Carly felt that colour placement and order are important to make the viewer see the lusciousness of Tanya’s hair. Which it is. So yes. Tanya and Carly do have grey hair, and this might be something they both enjoy and relish rather than endless dyeing of roots and playing pretend that they are young, but that really isn’t enough for an entire friendship. Can you imagine going up to someone and saying, “Ah, you have lovely grey hair, I admire you for embracing your age, I agree with that value set, and so will you be my friend?”
Tanya and Carly had a wonderful trip to the Alpaca Farm and whilst there made a BBQ, went horse-riding, watched alpacas and went for walks. They shared a bed the first night. That was the first and last time. No more stealing of duvets and being too close. The second night, Carly took to the fold-up bed, and both were so much happier. Phew. Honesty is always the best course along with open and clear communication as the key to new friends going on holiday. And this paved the way for a holiday of a lifetime together. To India.
Carly got to Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, a day before Tanya. This meant she could go around with Busty Bindi Barbie and introduce her to cows, traditionally dressed Indian men and women as well as having a fabulous time in the Anokhi Museum. This was going to be Tanya’s first time in India. In fact, any non-Western country and so Carly was mindful to make it as enjoyable for Tanya as possible. Carly intended to trip down memory lane, but it was all new and exciting for Tanya. Mobile communication was dodgy, and Carly wasn’t sure when Tanya would arrive. She marched up to the main road and someone on a motorbike offered her a lift. Ooooh what fun. Then she saw a taxi swerve past her with what looked like a white woman with goldenly grey hair in the back. She insisted the biker stop and hey presto she found Tanya. They then zoomed off together to the rather basic homestay in the cab. They had a wonderful time around Amber Fort. They had coffee in terracotta one-use cups (which Carly brought home for plants) whilst watching the elephants returning with their riders from their morning work. They had sumptuous meals at the mosaic guesthouse and watched (yet again for Carly) the sound and light show at the Fort. As expected, there were lots of battles and coronations! All was going well for both of them. Of course they had their differences. Tanya insisted on having ice made from bottled water. Carly would endlessly roll her eyes. And every time they set off, Tanya had to pee. Carly explained that it was much better for her bladder to hold more urine to improve her pelvic floor and didn’t she manage many hours overnight? But it had been drilled into Tanya as a child that you HAVE to PASS URINE at every available opportunity. Carly thinks gleefully now that maybe she still pops into Tanya’s head every time she pees in the daytime. But maybe she doesn’t? She will have to clarify this with Tanya as soon as possible! And finally, there is Tanya’s ridiculous overuse of the word yummy. There are so many alternatives such as delicious, delectable, lip-smacking, luscious and tasty. And Carly is eager to point them out. But don’t worry. It is not one-sided! Carly is no angel in Tanya’s eyes who is happy to point out her foibles to her. She is particularly driven to giving Carly unsolicited advice about romantic intimate situations.
Then the pair went to stay at one of Carly’s all-time favourite hotels. 47 Jobner Bagh is in the centre of Jaipur. It was a treasure of a place with an excellent restaurant, beautiful lawns and spectacular flower arrangements of marigolds in trugs of water. Everyone staying there was in the chic end of the clothing business from Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. Carly and Tanya felt rather old and fuddy-duddy by comparison. They also took some very dodgy Ubers around the city mostly for Carly to see if she could scare Tanya witless… And she did!
Their best day in Jaipur was with Tanya’s Snoopy who had a whole wardrobe of outfits as they took him round the Jantar Mantar (royal observatory) and Hawa Mahal (palace of the winds). It was astonishing how many tourists and locals were happy to pose with this cute stuffed animal. Groups of school children and entire families would engage in Carly’s photographic project. Carly did take Snoopy out early one morning for a session with a load of local wildlife. Actually, beasts of burden and the like. And whoops. Carly forgot the rules and had placed Snoopy on the ground. She profusely apologised and NEVER did this again. Or, in fact, did she?
Tanya and Carly then set off for the dyeing and printing city of Bagru. This was really Carly’s thing, but Tanya was happy to muddle along with her. But for sure she was less keen. Especially when she saw the shared bathroom. So, Tanya went back with the other tourists who attended the workshop and stayed in a fancy hotel in Jaipur and drank lots of gins and tonics. Carly had a much more mediocre evening eating with the family. By then Busty Bindi Barbie was a double amputee having lost a leg and an arm and so she left this poor soul there. Nevertheless, she was pleased with what she had printed on fabric using Bagru, Dabu and acrylic techniques.
Then off for the final stop of Pushkar. They each had huge rooms in the Dia Homestay. Ravi, the house manager, immediately remembered Carly from five years before and showed her what was left of the tree she had yarn-bombed – not much! He took them about on his scooter to a rose factory and to a temple besieged by monkeys at the top of 89 steps. He took them back to his place for supper. After eating his daughter and niece decorated both their left feet with sumptuous henna designs. Ravi still regularly sends messages to both Tanya and Carly. But he was very clear. They must return next time with boyfriends! Oh no…such pressure.
Whilst in Pushkar, Tanya and Carly decided to be regular tourists for once. They went in a taxi to Ajmer. In the wonderfully exotic Jain temple, Tanya showed Carly how to take a myriad of reflection photos. This was a great place to do it as it looked like the designers of the shrine were high on several different kinds of psychedelic mushrooms. There were all manner of mythical beasts and air transportation devices only the most imaginative of minds could think of. And all of it made of gold. It made you quite giddy as well as being breathtaking.
Next up was the Ajmer Fort with its museum. There was a long corridor with lots of mirrors and side rooms set at strange angles. Most of the pieces were on loan elsewhere. Or had been removed or stolen. Carly raced along with Tanya videoing from behind. They both collapsed in heaps of giggles at the end. Finally, they went to a shopping mall where Carly bought some very cheap trainer socks ($1 for 3 pairs).
Carly and Tanya happened to be in Pushkar on October 7th and decided they would have a ceremony in commemoration of the hostages taken and the start of the war in Israel a year before. They sat on a bench outside Tanya’s room and lit incense sticks, burnt tea lights, arranged some flowers in a vase, ate several kinds of Indian sweets and drank gin and tonics out of teacups. Pushkar is dry and this is how you can secretly drink alcohol there. They read out all the names of the hostages and some appropriate information about each of them. It felt pertinent and meaningful.
Carly and Tanya had a fabulous trip. They had ironed out any issues by travelling together beforehand and being thoroughly open when communicating to prevent irritations, however seemingly minor, becoming insurmountable. They remain the best of friends to this day. And will they return with boyfriends? Who knows?
