Day 23 - Joanna

I woke up at about 7:30 on the 3rd of January, mainly because we had some very noisy people in the room next door, but also because IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! Mum and Megan wished me happy birthday and Megan went downstairs to fetch Dad and David (and my presents) while of course I went on Facebook to see how many embarrassing photos of me people had put up. When the whole family had gathered I received my presents. I actually got a MacBook Air from Mum and Dad but they couldn't really bring that to India so they got me some other little things, like a ring that I had pointed out to mum, some turquoise earrings and a cushion cover from Jaisalmer. Megan got me pretty silver earrings and a $25 Victoria's Secret "voucher" (she wrote on a piece of scrap paper and told me that I had to keep it in order to redeem it) for when we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur on the way home. David got me a black skirt with patterns on it in the colours of the peacock (I picked it) and a cute leather bag (which I also selected). Once that was done we showered and headed out in search of a place to eat breakfast. Unfortunately Megan and I still didn't have our appetites back so we had very particular taste, but eventually we found a place that suited all of us.

We went back to the guest house briefly and then the girls headed out for a special birthday treat. Eyebrow threading. The woman was very nice, she did mums pretty quickly, and then it was my turn. I was looking pretty bushy, and as I sat down I could almost hear her thoughts. "Aaaaaah now this is a REAL challenge...." A bit of pain and a LOT of loose eyebrow hair later Megan hopped in the chair. She'd never had hers done professionally before so she was a bit stressed. "Is it going to hurt? Do I hold my eye shut now? No? Oh okay, sorry." We walked back, both me and Megan with watery eyes and swollen eyelids, but looking much tidier I thought. We picked up the boys and headed out for "lunch" which was actually cake and really good iced coffee at a cute new cafe we found. Unfortunately the power went out before Mum and Dad could get their cappuccinos and we had to leave, as we had other plans.

We got back and I quickly changed into a pair of jeans, because next up was horse riding. Mum and Megan weren't coming, they were going to find an art class instead. Dad, David and I got an auto to a guest house where we were greeted by a nice woman whose name I never caught. We were then taken by car with her to the outskirts of town, and when we hopped out we were promptly welcomed by the woman's three dogs, two black Labradors and one enormous black and white Great Dane. Dad signed a few papers and explained our riding abilities to the woman as they finished getting our horses ready. David was put at the front on the biggest (but dumbest) horse, right next to the guide, who was travelling on foot. Dad was second on a bay mare, and I was at the back on a pretty little chestnut mare. She was actually gorgeous, her only fault was that I think she was blind in her right eye, there was something VERY wrong with it. The woman told me that she put me at the back so that if I wanted to fall back a bit I could, and then trot and canter to catch up again. Then we were off, and it was really fun.

For the first hour or so we went through villages and stuff, and I felt like a celebrity. All the children would yell and wave, and go to find their friends so that they could follow us down the street. I had the liveliest horse, and she didn't like to be left behind. I tried a few times to fall back like the woman said but she got very stressed, pulling and snorting. When I would loosen my hold on her just a little bit she leapt forward like a racehorse and ended up cantering very quickly back to the others. Eventually I gave up and just walked with the others. Later on we headed into the countryside and things got a bit rough. We were going through thorny bushes, down pretty steep, rocky slopes. At this point we were really glad we didn't bring Mum and Megan. Things were pretty quiet out there so when I heard a quiet thundering noise I turned in the saddle and got a bit of a shock when I saw the woman galloping up behind us on a black gelding. Our horses got a bit skittish, they didn't like to be overtaken. She offered to take me on an alternative route for a trot and a canter but I had to politely decline. We were about three hours in and I hadn't ridden for about six months before that, so my legs were pretty sore.

She laughed when I told her this and fell in behind me, deciding to ride back with us. At this point the horse were speeding up, dads was bouncing slightly as he tried to hold it back from a trot. The woman explained to me that they knew we were almost back and they wanted their food. The horses we were riding were Mewari horses, an Indian breed, and she told me that they were hot blooded and a bit harder to handle than most breeds used for pleasure riding. "Your Dad and your brother are doing very well" she said. "These horses are not really beginner horses." By the time we returned Dad and David were very relieved to get off, Dad because his horse was almost dancing in the spot it was so excited for its dinner, and David because he had VERY sore legs. We met their friendly 3 month old filly Aisha and admired her father from afar, a huge black stallion pacing restlessly in a pen faaaar away from the mares.

By this time it was getting dark so we went back in the car, got a few recommendations for dinner from the woman as we paid, then caught an auto back to the guest house. Mum and Megan were waiting for us, and they proudly displayed their miniature paintings, then promptly told us that we smelled bad. We showered and changed for dinner, then went to a nice rooftop resteraunt called Masala and had delicious indian food while admiring the view over the lake. It got a bit stressful when Megan choked on a chicken bone but she was okay, although I think she gave the owner a heart attack when she started coughing and gagging in front of him. We finished dinner at ten, and we were all still really tired so we decided to put off cake until the next day and walked back to the guest house, getting straight into bed.