Leaving behind the terrific markets, poor cuisine and played-up Rajasthani culture of Jaipur, Erin and I headed west across the Thar Desert for the more remote city of Jaisalmer. We were unable to get a train ticket for this leg (a constant struggle in India we've found) but found bus tickets at the last minute. A sleeper-class ticket laned us a cozy double bed. With the two of us plus our bags the quarters were incredibly tight. We quickly realized how smooth the train rides had been; on bus you feel EVERY pothole (India has as many as people) or speedbump or pump of the brakes. We both would just break out laughing sometimes in the middle of a particularly bad set of jolts which would toss us around like sardines. All you can do is laugh in India sometimes.
Jaisalmer is everything one might imagine about a desert city. Think the movie Aladdin. An incredibly elaborate fort stands atop an 80m hill at the centre. Its walls, bastions and towers made of a brownish-beige stone and the pathways you walk on are of interlocking sandstones. Its pathways are mazelike and turning every corner finds a new Jain temple, or another Haveli (Indian mansions), shops and so on. The tapestries, pajmina's, blankets and other woven work seem particularly beautiful here so far.
Erin has been sick a couple days now and pretty much bed-ridden. I went for breakfast alone this morning to a place called Mid-town restaurant. A sign inside charmed me into staying: "We accept that some of our competitors charge lower prices. They realize what their product and service costs." In a country full of desperate vendors, this show of smug confidence felt reassuring.
Over a coffee and an American Club Sandwich almost too big for my mouth to bite, a parade of locals dressed in orange scarves arrived below my rooftop perch, chanting and singing. They quickly set up a sound system and began playing tabla and a sort of Indian accordion while a few others sang vocals overtop. The rest of the parade sat cross-legged in reverance (I found out later it was a Hindu festival lasting 7 days in which they read/sing out verses from the Vedic scriptures). Elsewhere below me was the market with fruit vendors on one side, vegetable vendors on the other. Behind that lay the first set of fortress walls, with further walls and bastions rising up and up again and again further on, giving a terrace-like effect. I couldn't help but feel lucky to be able to casually gaze around at these incredible sights.
On wednesday we finally get to go on the camel-trek, something Erin has been talking about since she first mentioned going to India. It will be a two day and one night trek into the dunes of the Thar desert, visiting gypsy and untouchable villages as well as fort ruins. After a campfire we sleep overnight in the desert on cots under the stars. My goal is to see a scorpion. Erin's goal is to not see one. That's all for now so long everyone!
Jaisalmer is everything one might imagine about a desert city. Think the movie Aladdin. An incredibly elaborate fort stands atop an 80m hill at the centre. Its walls, bastions and towers made of a brownish-beige stone and the pathways you walk on are of interlocking sandstones. Its pathways are mazelike and turning every corner finds a new Jain temple, or another Haveli (Indian mansions), shops and so on. The tapestries, pajmina's, blankets and other woven work seem particularly beautiful here so far.
Erin has been sick a couple days now and pretty much bed-ridden. I went for breakfast alone this morning to a place called Mid-town restaurant. A sign inside charmed me into staying: "We accept that some of our competitors charge lower prices. They realize what their product and service costs." In a country full of desperate vendors, this show of smug confidence felt reassuring.
Over a coffee and an American Club Sandwich almost too big for my mouth to bite, a parade of locals dressed in orange scarves arrived below my rooftop perch, chanting and singing. They quickly set up a sound system and began playing tabla and a sort of Indian accordion while a few others sang vocals overtop. The rest of the parade sat cross-legged in reverance (I found out later it was a Hindu festival lasting 7 days in which they read/sing out verses from the Vedic scriptures). Elsewhere below me was the market with fruit vendors on one side, vegetable vendors on the other. Behind that lay the first set of fortress walls, with further walls and bastions rising up and up again and again further on, giving a terrace-like effect. I couldn't help but feel lucky to be able to casually gaze around at these incredible sights.
On wednesday we finally get to go on the camel-trek, something Erin has been talking about since she first mentioned going to India. It will be a two day and one night trek into the dunes of the Thar desert, visiting gypsy and untouchable villages as well as fort ruins. After a campfire we sleep overnight in the desert on cots under the stars. My goal is to see a scorpion. Erin's goal is to not see one. That's all for now so long everyone!
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