As I explained before, each camp is basically a big house with rooms with bunk beds where volunteers from around the world sleep, eat and hang out in our downtime. My camp has guys from Spain, New York and Finland as well as women from Spain, Finland, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Austria. Another camp is located just across the street and has even more people living there. We all sit down together for breakfast and dinner that is prepared by the staff and we take weekend trips together and embark on nights out in Jaipur.

Since Jaipur is the so-called cow belt of India – the more traditional and devoutly Hindu region of the country – drinking culture is tucked out of site especially for women. Rooftop bars offer great vistas to enjoy with your drinks and also stay out of site due to their location and also prices which inhibit most locals from drinking there.

Other bars are in western-owned hotels (Ramada) and use a wonky ticket system to buy drinks. One bar we went to even sent women to a different area unless they are accompanied by a man. Some of the volunteers/interns have been in Jaipur for almost a year and they are a wealth of information about the city. I often describe our camp as a kind of long term hostel.

Some nights we just hang out in the commons area and chat or go up on the roof to listen to music and relax. Other nights we all pile into tuk-tuks (or autorickshaws) and hit the bars and pubs. Some of the dance clubs blast out the latest Bollywood hits and are quite fun.

My roommate, Daniel, left after two weeks and on his last night we splurged on martinis at the incredibly opulent Rambagh Palace. Unbeknownst to us, the palace had hosted an over-the-top wedding party that included guests Sting, Mick Jagger, and Madonna to name a few. Every couple days it seemed someone else was leaving and my camp was starting to feel rather empty.

Another outing we did was to a place called Chokhi Dhani, which is a mock village entertainment complex just south of Jaipur.

There are all kind of games and activities followed by a rather delicious dinner.

As my Hindi lessons were coming to a close, I began to plan for the rest of India trip when my girlfriend, Shannon, arrives. She is in graduate school now in Orlando and will meet me in New Delhi to travel around for one month during winter recess from her university.