The desert town of Jaisalmer, the Golden City, sixth stop on my travels, was one of the most memorable places that I visited in India. It was here that I made my deepest connections with locals, some of whom I still call friends to this day. It was the place where I was the most honest with myself. The place where I finally came to a measure of acceptance for what is. And the place that I felt most like I was going to die. In a way, I guess that I kind of did - or at the least, the process began in earnest there.
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan : January 29, 2011 - February 2, 2011
Jaisalmer is a true desert town, in every way imaginable. Long gone were the white-washed and pastel blue buildings of Pushkar. In Jaisalmer, most of the buildings were of the soft golden sandy hues and texture of the desert itself. made manifest in every form possible, from shanty homes to imposing fort walls and everything in between. Stunted growth dots the landscape, vying for what precious ground water can be found. And from up above, the streets of the city became a sea of turbans, of all colours, most noticeably a bright pink that would grab your eyes and never let them go. Jaisalmer is a camel oriented town, where there are more vendors selling safaris than there are tourists to buy them. It is a place where the mythic past rubs shoulders with the modern world - buildings many hundreds of years old abutting newly constructed ones in a sort of architectural menagerie. The beauty of Jaisalmer was evident everywhere, for those not too blinded to see it.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at 08:30, way ahead of the fourteen hour duration the operator in Pushkar said the trip would take. Somewhere along the way, we'd cut almost five hours from the transit time. Perhaps he was only giving us an average length and not an actual one. It really doesn't matter though - we arrived safe and sound, if not a little tired and cold; we being myself, Neslie and Hasan, the married couple from Turkey that had taken the bus with me from Pushkar. They were in Pushkar and Jaisalmer to do business, as Hasan was in the import business. Since I'd arranged for a hotel from Pushkar and they hadn't, they accompanied me in the free taxi ride up into the fort where my hotel was located. They ended up staying in the sister hotel to mine on the opposite side of the fort, as mine didn't have any double rooms within a price range they were comfortable with. My room was a mere 125 rupees per night - for a bed, a door and a terrace overlooking the city. And oh what a terrace it was too! It even had a marble bench on it that was big enough to sleep on comfortably, which I did on my last night in Jaisalmer (more on that later). The only downfall to the room was that it didn't have a private bathroom, but that's not really a big deal - unless of course, you are rapidly dying from the inside...
Neslie, Hasan and I spent three mornings together, meeting for breakfast at a German Bakery (they exist everywhere in India) just outside the Hawa Pol (Gate of the Winds). On the first day, we all ate croissants, sipped especially bad coffee and then went in search of camel safari pricing for them. The one they'd finally settled on was with an outfitter located outside the fort itself, costing them over 1000 rupees each for a two hour camel ride and a sunset in the desert. Personally, I think they got ripped off, but who am I to judge, really, what is worthwhile to another person? Me, I had a private combination jeep and camel safari the following day that was 10 hours in total and included the 2 hour camel ride, the sunset, and also dinner in the desert (more on that), and visits to the following: Bada Bagh (royal cenotaphs), an abandoned Punjabi settlement (850 years empty), a 900+ year old Jain Temple and a gypsy village. And my safari cost 2000 rupees, the same as their combined cost. I feel safe in saying, that yes, to my mind, they were ripped off. I advised them to talk to Muna, the guy at my hotel who arranged trips, but they were settled on only doing the camel ride and not all the other stuff. So... while waiting for them to settle their costs, I met another girl from Toronto who was to go on a 3 day safari. We chatted for a bit while her jeeps were being loaded with supplies. When Hasan came out of the safari outfitter, he told me they'd be leaving in about 15 minutes for their ride. I bid them good day and walked off down the road towards Gadi Sagar, one of the sites in Jaisalmer I was really looking forward to seeing.
Gadi Sagar, which I would visit more than once while in Jaisalmer, is the city's main source of water. It is a lake, dotted here and there with small temples, accessible only by boat. There were the usual ghats and a few places where people actually lived. On the opposite side of the lake, the plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, or as far as you could penetrate through any sandstorms that may be blowing past. Those plains though, reminded me a little of the savannahs in southern Africa. I kept expecting to see lions and elephants and zebras. All I did see were water buffalo, gazelles and lots of pigeons. The entrance to Gadi Sagar was a massive archway that was built by a courtesan for the Raj in antiquity, as a means to impress him and catch his 'attention' - I have no idea if it worked. However, the archway has stood ever since and is a beautiful piece of architecture, especially in the early morning hours when the sun would crest the horizon and it's orange and red radiance would alter the coloration of the building, much like at the Taj Mahal. It was a peaceful place - a place were you could sit at ease and just enjoy the natural and constructed beauty around you. There were never many people here and the sounds of the city never penetrated the silence, so you could reasonably unwind in the shade of the numerous trees lining the lake.
It was on the way to Gadi Sagar, that first morning that I came across the textile vendor with the very humourous signs declaring that you didn't need viagra if you bought this magic blanket or that this dress would make your mother-in-law prettier. He had a sign for everything and they truly were quite funny to read!
On my second day, I went for my safari with Muna. We had become fast friends, Muna and I - we often referred to each other as Bai, which is the Hindi word for brother. Muna was the hotel's safari organizer and also the guide. The only time on the safari that he was not with me was when I was on the camel ride. We were accompanied that day by Rabhu, my jeep driver. For my safari, I bought some mutton (sheep), as I wanted meat - I was sorely craving protein by this point in my trip. That was a huge mistake though and I paid for it dearly over the span of the next 4 days. The jeep safari to see the sights mentioned above was really something. Walking the streets of Khaba, the abandoned village, was haunting to say the least - I could feel the eyes of the long departed on the back of my neck with every step I took between the skeletal remains of the houses. And this was in broad daylight at around 13:00 - imagine how bad that would have been at sunset. I can imagine it, because I went back there one night. The Jain Temple was kind of stressful to walk around in - there was a cobra living on the grounds and it was wild. So, you really had to watch every where that you stepped. The intricate carvings on the temples themselves was quite exceptional! Visiting the gypsy village was a quick in and out - Muna's family came from the village and we literally only stopped for a few minutes so he could deliver some supplies. Still, in that short time, I got to see how the desert nomads live and got a tour of Muna's mother's home, a round building made from dirt and dried manure with a thatched roof.
The highlight of the day was the camel ride through the scrub lands of the Thar Desert, and the rapidly approaching sand dunes. Here and there, there were trails left in the sand bu various species of animal, be it snake, bird or insect. There were many goats and cattle out here too, grazing on the scrub - animals that the nomads owned. What was quite funny to me was that my guide, Bengali,had a cell phone that actually worked out here, in the middle of nowhere. Rocket, the camel I was riding, was very gentle, but stank incredibly when he regurgitated his stomach contents, like a cow will. His mouth was stained the colour of green bile and he burped more often than I would have liked, since the smell came backwards over his head into my unprepared nose.
We set up camp at the bottom of the dunes, as opposed to the top as is usual, because I'd decided that I wanted to capture a time lapse shot of the sunset from there. Everyone shoots their sunsets from the top of the dunes, but me, I wanted to have a different perspective on it. And what a shot it was too! It was down here that Muna, Rabhu and Bengali prepared my desert meal. It consisted of white rice, the mutton in a red curry gravy (we call it sauce) and freshly made chapatis. The smell of it, while cooking was so tantalizing that I could actually taste each of the added ingredients. I watched the whole process from start to finish, talking with the guys and sharing desert chai, called so as it has ingredients not found in normal masala chai.
I also came across dung beetles while out there waiting for dinner. I even got stung by one - thankfully not hard and not deep. It didn't penetrate the skin. Still, it was freaky that they had stingers. When touched, they lower their heads into the sand, thus forcing their thorax into the air, with stinger exposed. Too bad it was the wrong time of year to see them rolling balls of shit. No matter - at least I got to see them, which is what I'd been hoping for.
Dinner was incredible - the aromas didn't lie! It wasn't until around midnight back at the hotel in Jaisalmer that I started to rot away on the inside. I won't go into details, but I will say that I passed a very miserable night, devoid of deep sleep. Every noise from my abdomen was an alarm clock to run for the communal bathroom. And we'll leave that there. This illness came and went, one day present, one day not, for four days. It wasn't until I got to Jodhpur that the last of it passed, and only because I took some Ayurvedic medicine (herbal, holistic medication). Muna felt so bad about making me ill that he comped everything at the hotel for me for my five day stay, aside from the cost of my room. He even invited me to go back out to the desert with another group, free of charge. That's how well we got along. You know, he even invited me to come back to Jaisalmer in two years for his wedding - and I just might if opportunity and money allow.
Over the course of the next day, I slept a lot on the rooftop patio on the maharaja cushions. Muna got me anything I needed free of charge; bananas, water, whatever. At around 12:00, I decided to head out into the city and experience the market streets in Gandhi Chowk. It was an absolute maze, more so than Pushkar could ever claim. I eventually made my way to the slums on the outskirts of town and walked through them, trying to reach a high point known as Sunset Hill. I stopped a few times to talk with people in those slums, giving bananas to the kids and taking no advantage of photo opportunities - like I said, I have an issue with photographing other people's lives, especially when they are in such poverty. I'll eventually get to the entry where I will quote my actual journal, describing my feelings on that matter (I think it was in Mumbai).
I spent many hours up on Sunset Hill, just relaxing in the 35 degree sun, under a shrine of some sort. At the time though, I didn't know it was a shrine and I actually climbed up on it, to sit on the wall. The vantage point of the town from up here was incredible! And it was singularly tranquil. I went through two litres of water up there though; severe dehydration caused by heat and illness. At some point, I was unable to bear the heat and the sounds issuing from my stomach, so I went back to the fort to sleep a bit, before making my way back up to the hill to watch the sunset over the desert. It doesn't matter where you watch them from; the sunsets in Jaisalmer were just spectacular. There wasn't a single night in Jaisalmer that I didn't watch one from somewhere or other. This night though, there were lots of tourists here to watch it; I passed the time with a couple from Germany and four girls from South Korea. We got some amazing photos and were serenaded by a man playing a Rajasthani violin, called a ravanatha. The sound of this instrument is amazing - like a chorus of violins with an undertone of traditional bells interwoven into it. Haunting and moving at the same time. You know, I almost bought one while there in Jaisalmer, but didn't see how I could transport it around the country with me for two months without destroying it. I'm seriously considering ordering one though, because I really love the sound and it doesn't look that hard to learn (I have a few years of violin training up my sleeve - didn't know that, did you?), since it only has two strings.
Now we get to the part of my stay in Jaisalmer where I drank my first real Bhang Lassi. Remember that I said in Pushkar everyone was smoking pot except for me, as I liked to drink it? This is that reference. A bhang lassi is a yogurt based drink (yogurt, sugar, milk and masala spice) mixed with bhang, a derivative of cannabis, kind of like really dehydrated hashish. It delivers the same effect as smoking it, but more of a whole body thing. Me, I had a super strong (24 hour, full power, no sleep, no shower - as they say) and bought two bhang cookies to go with it. I drank the lassi in the shop, as is the rule (this stuff is government approved), and then went back to my room to await the effects to kick in. It didn't take long! I passed the night on my terrace, on the bench under a blanket, staring at the stars as they moved across the night sky. And you know? I was getting angry at those star BECAUSE they were moving - I was playing a rather fun game in my mind of connect the dots with them at the time! LoL! I also saw bats chasing moths, illuminated by the floodlights that light up the fort at night. And they were seriously moving in extreme slow motion, or at least that is how my bhang addled mind processed their flight. Eventually, I passed out on the terrace and slept there until 07:00 when the sounds of the awakening city forced me to relocate into my room and the comfort of the ensuing silence. There wasn't any hangover effects, to be honest, but I was a little sluggish for the first hour after getting up - I went to the rooftop and lay in the sun for a few hours before collecting my gear and checking out of the hotel at 10:30. Since my train to Bikaner wasn't until that night, I needed to pass many hours in Jaisalmer with my bags. I eventually decided to leave them in Muna's care and relaxed again on the maharaja cushion to read The Alchemist a bit more.
That was when I met the two Ellies - both from Sydney, Australia, and best friends - more like sisters from different parents I would say! We struck up the usual traveler conversation, which in the end resulted in them agreeing to go to Bikaner with me to see the Karni Mata Temple. I bought them their tickets online for the train with my credit card, as theirs didn't work, and that was that! I had friends for the next leg of the trip! We went to Gadi Sagar together, where the girls, to their delight, could rent a swan paddle boat for a 30 minute tour of the lake and it's temples. So full of zest, those two. :) Being with them was an experience I will never forget - those two were just so much fun, especially when it came to shopping. Their combined skills at bartering were unparalleled. Even at the height of my shopping days, I was no match for them, much that wished I could have been. At one point, because of the amount of shopping they did, I renamed them ATMs, because of the sheer amount of money they were handing out to the vendors of Gandhi Chowk for their purchases.
We stopped at one point at Dylan Cafe, in Gandhi Chowk, to do some internet stuff, which is where we met Rajiv and Cool Desertguy, who worked at the cafe. Those two guys were very cool. As I would find out when I got home, my exgirlfriend had met Cool Desertguy in Jaisalmer, three years prior too. What a small world we live in. The guys liked very good music full of deep, resonating bass and driven beats. I wish I knew the style of music (I should just ask them, lol). They organized parties out in the desert - there was actually one scheduled for that night, 87 km outside of Jaisalmer, but since we had tickets for Bikaner, we didn't go. Part of me wishes we did... at one point in the night, Cool DG referred to Ellie Mair as mixed-veg, implying she was half asian - funniest way I've ever heard that mentioned. Which of course she isn't, btw...
We went for a motorcycle ride out to Khaba with them, to watch a sunset in the haunted, abandoned village. That was quite the ride, let me tell you! Five people, two motorcycles - I burned my leg quite often on the exhaust pipe of the bike I was on (3rd seat) and felt like I was going to fall off, backwards, with every bump we hit. Still, it was an adventure to be sure - I'm smiling right now, just thinking about it! Out at the "cow shit house", as Cool Desertguy called it, we took photos, listened to music and watched the sunset. Yeah, sunsets are something you totally have to do every night in Jaisalmer! The ride back to town was interesting too - it was dark, there were insects flying into your face and the air was getting quite cool.
We ended up having dinner with them when we got back to town; well, I didn't, as my stomach was still not settled in any way, shape or form. Cool Desertguy got a call while everyone was eating about the desert party and had to go, so we left too. We headed back to the girl's hotel to get our bags, chatted with the really nice people who worked there and then went to the train station via rickshaw, once we could find one - and just our luck, we had the Jaisalmer nut job in ours - he's more famous than Bill Gates, he'll tell you this himself, saying also, "When you see me in Jodhpur, buy me a beer!". Whatever - I never did see him in Jodhpur though...
On the train headed for Bikaner, we met Max and Ian, two guys from Melbourne, heading to Bikaner as well, and as we'd find out later in the day, to Deshnok and the Karni Mata temple too.
Jaisalmer was an amazing place, illness aside - that was my own fault. I am definitely going to return there, if for nothing else than to see my new Indian friends who live there. And maybe I'll be there for Holi next time so I can party with CDG and Rajiv in the desert! I learned a very valuable skill while here - how to approach people I don't now and strike up conversations. Normally I don't have a problem with that, but you know, it's not something I do all the time. Here in Jaisalmer though, I was doing it every day, all day long, with whoever wanted to chat. I learned to come out of my bubble a little bit more than usual. And I had these two amazing girls from Australia traveling with me who excelled at it! I wish I could have traveled more with them to be honest - they were just so much fun! We had thought we could cross paths in Goa, but alas, I got there too early and left before they got there. Life is just like that sometimes - still, too bad.
I was thankful for meeting them though and for staying touch with them; well with Ellie Sedgwick anyways. Don't know what happened to Mair though - maybe that contact slipped through the cracks? Try again, I guess.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes... the illness came back that night and said hello, while on the train. So even though I had a sleeper bunk, in actuality, I had a "seat" - FML.
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan : January 29, 2011 - February 2, 2011
Jaisalmer is a true desert town, in every way imaginable. Long gone were the white-washed and pastel blue buildings of Pushkar. In Jaisalmer, most of the buildings were of the soft golden sandy hues and texture of the desert itself. made manifest in every form possible, from shanty homes to imposing fort walls and everything in between. Stunted growth dots the landscape, vying for what precious ground water can be found. And from up above, the streets of the city became a sea of turbans, of all colours, most noticeably a bright pink that would grab your eyes and never let them go. Jaisalmer is a camel oriented town, where there are more vendors selling safaris than there are tourists to buy them. It is a place where the mythic past rubs shoulders with the modern world - buildings many hundreds of years old abutting newly constructed ones in a sort of architectural menagerie. The beauty of Jaisalmer was evident everywhere, for those not too blinded to see it.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at 08:30, way ahead of the fourteen hour duration the operator in Pushkar said the trip would take. Somewhere along the way, we'd cut almost five hours from the transit time. Perhaps he was only giving us an average length and not an actual one. It really doesn't matter though - we arrived safe and sound, if not a little tired and cold; we being myself, Neslie and Hasan, the married couple from Turkey that had taken the bus with me from Pushkar. They were in Pushkar and Jaisalmer to do business, as Hasan was in the import business. Since I'd arranged for a hotel from Pushkar and they hadn't, they accompanied me in the free taxi ride up into the fort where my hotel was located. They ended up staying in the sister hotel to mine on the opposite side of the fort, as mine didn't have any double rooms within a price range they were comfortable with. My room was a mere 125 rupees per night - for a bed, a door and a terrace overlooking the city. And oh what a terrace it was too! It even had a marble bench on it that was big enough to sleep on comfortably, which I did on my last night in Jaisalmer (more on that later). The only downfall to the room was that it didn't have a private bathroom, but that's not really a big deal - unless of course, you are rapidly dying from the inside...
Neslie, Hasan and I spent three mornings together, meeting for breakfast at a German Bakery (they exist everywhere in India) just outside the Hawa Pol (Gate of the Winds). On the first day, we all ate croissants, sipped especially bad coffee and then went in search of camel safari pricing for them. The one they'd finally settled on was with an outfitter located outside the fort itself, costing them over 1000 rupees each for a two hour camel ride and a sunset in the desert. Personally, I think they got ripped off, but who am I to judge, really, what is worthwhile to another person? Me, I had a private combination jeep and camel safari the following day that was 10 hours in total and included the 2 hour camel ride, the sunset, and also dinner in the desert (more on that), and visits to the following: Bada Bagh (royal cenotaphs), an abandoned Punjabi settlement (850 years empty), a 900+ year old Jain Temple and a gypsy village. And my safari cost 2000 rupees, the same as their combined cost. I feel safe in saying, that yes, to my mind, they were ripped off. I advised them to talk to Muna, the guy at my hotel who arranged trips, but they were settled on only doing the camel ride and not all the other stuff. So... while waiting for them to settle their costs, I met another girl from Toronto who was to go on a 3 day safari. We chatted for a bit while her jeeps were being loaded with supplies. When Hasan came out of the safari outfitter, he told me they'd be leaving in about 15 minutes for their ride. I bid them good day and walked off down the road towards Gadi Sagar, one of the sites in Jaisalmer I was really looking forward to seeing.
Gadi Sagar, which I would visit more than once while in Jaisalmer, is the city's main source of water. It is a lake, dotted here and there with small temples, accessible only by boat. There were the usual ghats and a few places where people actually lived. On the opposite side of the lake, the plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, or as far as you could penetrate through any sandstorms that may be blowing past. Those plains though, reminded me a little of the savannahs in southern Africa. I kept expecting to see lions and elephants and zebras. All I did see were water buffalo, gazelles and lots of pigeons. The entrance to Gadi Sagar was a massive archway that was built by a courtesan for the Raj in antiquity, as a means to impress him and catch his 'attention' - I have no idea if it worked. However, the archway has stood ever since and is a beautiful piece of architecture, especially in the early morning hours when the sun would crest the horizon and it's orange and red radiance would alter the coloration of the building, much like at the Taj Mahal. It was a peaceful place - a place were you could sit at ease and just enjoy the natural and constructed beauty around you. There were never many people here and the sounds of the city never penetrated the silence, so you could reasonably unwind in the shade of the numerous trees lining the lake.
It was on the way to Gadi Sagar, that first morning that I came across the textile vendor with the very humourous signs declaring that you didn't need viagra if you bought this magic blanket or that this dress would make your mother-in-law prettier. He had a sign for everything and they truly were quite funny to read!
On my second day, I went for my safari with Muna. We had become fast friends, Muna and I - we often referred to each other as Bai, which is the Hindi word for brother. Muna was the hotel's safari organizer and also the guide. The only time on the safari that he was not with me was when I was on the camel ride. We were accompanied that day by Rabhu, my jeep driver. For my safari, I bought some mutton (sheep), as I wanted meat - I was sorely craving protein by this point in my trip. That was a huge mistake though and I paid for it dearly over the span of the next 4 days. The jeep safari to see the sights mentioned above was really something. Walking the streets of Khaba, the abandoned village, was haunting to say the least - I could feel the eyes of the long departed on the back of my neck with every step I took between the skeletal remains of the houses. And this was in broad daylight at around 13:00 - imagine how bad that would have been at sunset. I can imagine it, because I went back there one night. The Jain Temple was kind of stressful to walk around in - there was a cobra living on the grounds and it was wild. So, you really had to watch every where that you stepped. The intricate carvings on the temples themselves was quite exceptional! Visiting the gypsy village was a quick in and out - Muna's family came from the village and we literally only stopped for a few minutes so he could deliver some supplies. Still, in that short time, I got to see how the desert nomads live and got a tour of Muna's mother's home, a round building made from dirt and dried manure with a thatched roof.
The highlight of the day was the camel ride through the scrub lands of the Thar Desert, and the rapidly approaching sand dunes. Here and there, there were trails left in the sand bu various species of animal, be it snake, bird or insect. There were many goats and cattle out here too, grazing on the scrub - animals that the nomads owned. What was quite funny to me was that my guide, Bengali,had a cell phone that actually worked out here, in the middle of nowhere. Rocket, the camel I was riding, was very gentle, but stank incredibly when he regurgitated his stomach contents, like a cow will. His mouth was stained the colour of green bile and he burped more often than I would have liked, since the smell came backwards over his head into my unprepared nose.
We set up camp at the bottom of the dunes, as opposed to the top as is usual, because I'd decided that I wanted to capture a time lapse shot of the sunset from there. Everyone shoots their sunsets from the top of the dunes, but me, I wanted to have a different perspective on it. And what a shot it was too! It was down here that Muna, Rabhu and Bengali prepared my desert meal. It consisted of white rice, the mutton in a red curry gravy (we call it sauce) and freshly made chapatis. The smell of it, while cooking was so tantalizing that I could actually taste each of the added ingredients. I watched the whole process from start to finish, talking with the guys and sharing desert chai, called so as it has ingredients not found in normal masala chai.
I also came across dung beetles while out there waiting for dinner. I even got stung by one - thankfully not hard and not deep. It didn't penetrate the skin. Still, it was freaky that they had stingers. When touched, they lower their heads into the sand, thus forcing their thorax into the air, with stinger exposed. Too bad it was the wrong time of year to see them rolling balls of shit. No matter - at least I got to see them, which is what I'd been hoping for.
Dinner was incredible - the aromas didn't lie! It wasn't until around midnight back at the hotel in Jaisalmer that I started to rot away on the inside. I won't go into details, but I will say that I passed a very miserable night, devoid of deep sleep. Every noise from my abdomen was an alarm clock to run for the communal bathroom. And we'll leave that there. This illness came and went, one day present, one day not, for four days. It wasn't until I got to Jodhpur that the last of it passed, and only because I took some Ayurvedic medicine (herbal, holistic medication). Muna felt so bad about making me ill that he comped everything at the hotel for me for my five day stay, aside from the cost of my room. He even invited me to go back out to the desert with another group, free of charge. That's how well we got along. You know, he even invited me to come back to Jaisalmer in two years for his wedding - and I just might if opportunity and money allow.
Over the course of the next day, I slept a lot on the rooftop patio on the maharaja cushions. Muna got me anything I needed free of charge; bananas, water, whatever. At around 12:00, I decided to head out into the city and experience the market streets in Gandhi Chowk. It was an absolute maze, more so than Pushkar could ever claim. I eventually made my way to the slums on the outskirts of town and walked through them, trying to reach a high point known as Sunset Hill. I stopped a few times to talk with people in those slums, giving bananas to the kids and taking no advantage of photo opportunities - like I said, I have an issue with photographing other people's lives, especially when they are in such poverty. I'll eventually get to the entry where I will quote my actual journal, describing my feelings on that matter (I think it was in Mumbai).
I spent many hours up on Sunset Hill, just relaxing in the 35 degree sun, under a shrine of some sort. At the time though, I didn't know it was a shrine and I actually climbed up on it, to sit on the wall. The vantage point of the town from up here was incredible! And it was singularly tranquil. I went through two litres of water up there though; severe dehydration caused by heat and illness. At some point, I was unable to bear the heat and the sounds issuing from my stomach, so I went back to the fort to sleep a bit, before making my way back up to the hill to watch the sunset over the desert. It doesn't matter where you watch them from; the sunsets in Jaisalmer were just spectacular. There wasn't a single night in Jaisalmer that I didn't watch one from somewhere or other. This night though, there were lots of tourists here to watch it; I passed the time with a couple from Germany and four girls from South Korea. We got some amazing photos and were serenaded by a man playing a Rajasthani violin, called a ravanatha. The sound of this instrument is amazing - like a chorus of violins with an undertone of traditional bells interwoven into it. Haunting and moving at the same time. You know, I almost bought one while there in Jaisalmer, but didn't see how I could transport it around the country with me for two months without destroying it. I'm seriously considering ordering one though, because I really love the sound and it doesn't look that hard to learn (I have a few years of violin training up my sleeve - didn't know that, did you?), since it only has two strings.
Now we get to the part of my stay in Jaisalmer where I drank my first real Bhang Lassi. Remember that I said in Pushkar everyone was smoking pot except for me, as I liked to drink it? This is that reference. A bhang lassi is a yogurt based drink (yogurt, sugar, milk and masala spice) mixed with bhang, a derivative of cannabis, kind of like really dehydrated hashish. It delivers the same effect as smoking it, but more of a whole body thing. Me, I had a super strong (24 hour, full power, no sleep, no shower - as they say) and bought two bhang cookies to go with it. I drank the lassi in the shop, as is the rule (this stuff is government approved), and then went back to my room to await the effects to kick in. It didn't take long! I passed the night on my terrace, on the bench under a blanket, staring at the stars as they moved across the night sky. And you know? I was getting angry at those star BECAUSE they were moving - I was playing a rather fun game in my mind of connect the dots with them at the time! LoL! I also saw bats chasing moths, illuminated by the floodlights that light up the fort at night. And they were seriously moving in extreme slow motion, or at least that is how my bhang addled mind processed their flight. Eventually, I passed out on the terrace and slept there until 07:00 when the sounds of the awakening city forced me to relocate into my room and the comfort of the ensuing silence. There wasn't any hangover effects, to be honest, but I was a little sluggish for the first hour after getting up - I went to the rooftop and lay in the sun for a few hours before collecting my gear and checking out of the hotel at 10:30. Since my train to Bikaner wasn't until that night, I needed to pass many hours in Jaisalmer with my bags. I eventually decided to leave them in Muna's care and relaxed again on the maharaja cushion to read The Alchemist a bit more.
That was when I met the two Ellies - both from Sydney, Australia, and best friends - more like sisters from different parents I would say! We struck up the usual traveler conversation, which in the end resulted in them agreeing to go to Bikaner with me to see the Karni Mata Temple. I bought them their tickets online for the train with my credit card, as theirs didn't work, and that was that! I had friends for the next leg of the trip! We went to Gadi Sagar together, where the girls, to their delight, could rent a swan paddle boat for a 30 minute tour of the lake and it's temples. So full of zest, those two. :) Being with them was an experience I will never forget - those two were just so much fun, especially when it came to shopping. Their combined skills at bartering were unparalleled. Even at the height of my shopping days, I was no match for them, much that wished I could have been. At one point, because of the amount of shopping they did, I renamed them ATMs, because of the sheer amount of money they were handing out to the vendors of Gandhi Chowk for their purchases.
We stopped at one point at Dylan Cafe, in Gandhi Chowk, to do some internet stuff, which is where we met Rajiv and Cool Desertguy, who worked at the cafe. Those two guys were very cool. As I would find out when I got home, my exgirlfriend had met Cool Desertguy in Jaisalmer, three years prior too. What a small world we live in. The guys liked very good music full of deep, resonating bass and driven beats. I wish I knew the style of music (I should just ask them, lol). They organized parties out in the desert - there was actually one scheduled for that night, 87 km outside of Jaisalmer, but since we had tickets for Bikaner, we didn't go. Part of me wishes we did... at one point in the night, Cool DG referred to Ellie Mair as mixed-veg, implying she was half asian - funniest way I've ever heard that mentioned. Which of course she isn't, btw...
We went for a motorcycle ride out to Khaba with them, to watch a sunset in the haunted, abandoned village. That was quite the ride, let me tell you! Five people, two motorcycles - I burned my leg quite often on the exhaust pipe of the bike I was on (3rd seat) and felt like I was going to fall off, backwards, with every bump we hit. Still, it was an adventure to be sure - I'm smiling right now, just thinking about it! Out at the "cow shit house", as Cool Desertguy called it, we took photos, listened to music and watched the sunset. Yeah, sunsets are something you totally have to do every night in Jaisalmer! The ride back to town was interesting too - it was dark, there were insects flying into your face and the air was getting quite cool.
We ended up having dinner with them when we got back to town; well, I didn't, as my stomach was still not settled in any way, shape or form. Cool Desertguy got a call while everyone was eating about the desert party and had to go, so we left too. We headed back to the girl's hotel to get our bags, chatted with the really nice people who worked there and then went to the train station via rickshaw, once we could find one - and just our luck, we had the Jaisalmer nut job in ours - he's more famous than Bill Gates, he'll tell you this himself, saying also, "When you see me in Jodhpur, buy me a beer!". Whatever - I never did see him in Jodhpur though...
On the train headed for Bikaner, we met Max and Ian, two guys from Melbourne, heading to Bikaner as well, and as we'd find out later in the day, to Deshnok and the Karni Mata temple too.
Jaisalmer was an amazing place, illness aside - that was my own fault. I am definitely going to return there, if for nothing else than to see my new Indian friends who live there. And maybe I'll be there for Holi next time so I can party with CDG and Rajiv in the desert! I learned a very valuable skill while here - how to approach people I don't now and strike up conversations. Normally I don't have a problem with that, but you know, it's not something I do all the time. Here in Jaisalmer though, I was doing it every day, all day long, with whoever wanted to chat. I learned to come out of my bubble a little bit more than usual. And I had these two amazing girls from Australia traveling with me who excelled at it! I wish I could have traveled more with them to be honest - they were just so much fun! We had thought we could cross paths in Goa, but alas, I got there too early and left before they got there. Life is just like that sometimes - still, too bad.
I was thankful for meeting them though and for staying touch with them; well with Ellie Sedgwick anyways. Don't know what happened to Mair though - maybe that contact slipped through the cracks? Try again, I guess.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes... the illness came back that night and said hello, while on the train. So even though I had a sleeper bunk, in actuality, I had a "seat" - FML.
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