February 19

Up & about at 720 (after Jeff woke me). 730 I called and we talked with my sister. Then we ordered breakfast – Poha; Muesli (corn flakes,nuts, bits of raisins, and chocolate) with yogurt and honey; and our pots: one coffee, one tea. Then we called and talked with Jeff's sister and her husband. It is great to be able to catch up with everyone – WhatsApp is great! Now we showered, packed and checked out of Krishna Palace Hotel. I will miss 'looking at' this place. Jeff Ubered a tuk-tuk to get us to our bus stop. Jeff had booked tickets – ×3! One for “luggage” Todd 🤣😂 because of our luggage issues before on a bus. He did it online through a broker, Shriom Travels Jaipur. We got out at the supposed bus stop, but it was where the broker/ticket booth was, not the bus stop. Jeff went and talked with them. One of the men took us where the bus was, and the bus had storage space for our luggage (where luggage is supposed to go). So “luggage” Todd's seat is now open and available – Hee-hee!

The bus pulled out like two minutes late. We were moving along and the bus stopped – more people came on. Jeff was surprised because it was described as a direct bus. But obviously this is not the case, as we made a few more stops in Jaipur. This put us further behind. But then we got out of the city proper and we had just made up the time when… Our bus blew a tire!! It was 1:15 pm. Jeff sighed, “I jinxed us!” (He had mentioned this to his sister this morning!) We limped along on the shoulder. At 1:36, and a second pullover place (first tire place would not help), the tire was changed at Apollo Tyres. At 1:44 we were back on the road at full speed. I had not been on a bus that blew a tire before. The driver handled it well. If Jeff hadn't said anything, I would not have known what was even going on. There was not any thump-thumping that I associate with a flat tire. We just hear a pop and a loud hiss. I thought we had run over an air filled bag. Anyway, we arrived at the Bundi stop 45 minutes late, but safe.

We took a tuk-tuk to The Blue Door (which is actually a Zostel Hostel?). We were confused, but paid our driver and unloaded, still not quite sure. But we were in the right place, and we checked in. We are on the first floor. Our room is one big area, but there is a shared common room for three rooms with a seating area and a separate shared kitchen space. We also have a little balcony, but no real view of anything, our own restroom, and a cabinet we can put our stuff in. We are here seven days. We went up to the restaurant. I ordered an Hummus, Salad and Sauteed Veggies; Jeff, had a combo meal of Siciliana Pizza (mushroom, onion, tomato, and chilli sauce), Cheese-Garlic Bread, and a Coke (for me). He ordered a separate butterscotch shake. We finished and went up on the roof to see sunset and orient ourselves more with Bundi. It was a good sunset. We decided to go back down and have dessert – a sizzling Brownie with Ice Cream. Jeff paid for the food, then went out to get more cash to pay for our room. The places all seem to want there money when you check-in? Questions?? I unpacked some of our stuff and explored the room. Jeff came back – he also bought some nuts, and banana chips. Then I blogged and Jeff read, catching up on some news. Got to bed before ten. Since we are here for seven nights we hope to relax some, and explore Bundi, too, but at a calmer pace!