Paging Peter from New York! And, tales from the road

Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Udaipur

May 30

After the camel safari, I didn't write anything for a whole day because I was so irritated by the whole experience. The particulars are now irrelevant, but I will say that, for the amount of money I spent that evening, I could have started saving towards purchasing my own camel. However, the camel ride itself was nice, and watching the sun set on the Sam Sand Dunes was beautiful.

Speaking of camel purchases:  My camel driver, upon finding out that I am from New York, launched into a soliloquy about the last guest he had from New York – a fellow named Peter. Peter enjoyed his camel ride so much that he decided he would like to purchase a camel, and asked the young man to arrange the sale. So, Peter from New York, you jackass, you have a teenaged boy in Sam, India, waiting desperately to hear from you regarding this exchange! He probably stands to make considerable money off the commission, and actually took you seriously, you ignorant blowhard – he’s tried to call you several times but hasn’t been able to get through. He spoke about it almost non-stop the whole ride.

Afterwards, I was taken to something that amounted to Medieval Times Rajasthan. Traditional music played and girls in richly decorated dresses twirled around a circular dirt stage while the audience was served snacks and beverages. Afterwards, we went into a dining hall and had a meal of traditional Rajasthani food. All told, the evening ended up costing me nearly $50, which may not sound like much but is a freaking FORTUNE in India, where a typical dinner at a nice restaurant costs around $5 (including beverages). To put it in perspective, my driver earns around $80 a month.  It wasn't as much the money that vexed me; it was the fact that I wasn't given a choice.

Ahem. Moving on. The next day we headed off through the desert to Jodhpur, the "Blue City". When we first arrived, I was bitterly disappointed to discover there was not even a single blue building in sight. It wasn't until I headed to Mehrangarh Fort, which is perched on top of the mountain range that overlooks the city, that I realized I was wrong. From a distance, many (and in some places, most) of the building are blue. It's quite beautiful.

Yesterday evening, I went to dinner at the house of a local family. I assumed, rather cynically, that it had been pre-arranged by the tour service and that I would be expected to pony up some Rupees at the conclusion. I was somewhat humbled when, at the conclusion of the dinner (which was delicious home-cooked food, served on the patio of a modest but tidy house), the family merely thanked me for coming and waved goodbye.

This morning, I met BK at around 9:30 and we headed for Udaipur, the "city of lakes". Or maybe it's the "city on the lake". I'll figure it out tomorrow. The drive here was very cool, probably the coolest yet. We traveled through small villages and towns, stopping twice at interesting temples (one Hindu and one Jain; the Jain temple was incredible) and passing through an animal sanctuary (where we saw monkeys!).  The coolest part was the scenery, though. The landscape seemed to change every hour of the nine hour journey. We started out in the desert and then climbed some mountains, which turned into rolling hills, which turned into farmland, which turned back into mountains. The day went by very quickly.

Tomorrow I'm going to tour Udaipur - check out the City Palace and apparently, go for a boat ride. Should be interesting; so far, if anything, India has proven to be anything but boring.

Into the Desert - Hotter, not harder

Jaisalmer Day 3/4

May 28

Yesterday, I awoke at 4:30 AM on the train to Jaisalmer. We had stopped at Jodhpur and when the woman in the bunk below mine vacated her seat, I seized the opportunity to climb down and enjoy her window. We rolled out of Jodhpur and into the desert to Jaisalmer.

It was quite remarkable, the desert in the early morning. It was the direct antithesis of everything Delhi. It was serene and quiet. There were no garbage heaps lining the train tracks, only miles of endless desert, pocked with scrubby brush and sparse grasses.

By the time we arrived in Jaisalmer at 11 AM, the searing desert heat was beginning to overwhelm the train's puttering air conditioning. I put my palm to the train window and felt the warmth pulsing through. In Delhi, people kept telling me with a smile, "Rajasthan much harder than Delhi!" It wasn't until then that I realized I had misunderstood them. They were saying hotter, not harder. Hotter than 115 F?

When I got out of the train, I realized they weren't exaggerating. It must have been close to, if not actually, 120 F.  As I pushed through the crowd (I'm getting the hang on this India-style crowd surging), I was relieved to see my driver holding a sign with my name on it. It wasn't going to be another fiasco like Delhi.

He is a cheerful fellow who goes by the name BK. He informed me he will be accompanying me until I meet up with my fellow students in Jaipur. He has since proven to be an excellent driver with a good sense of humor, which is good news because he's my only companion. Last night he took me out to see some very nice Jain temples in the desert, urging me to run though a herd of goats while he snapped a photo with my camera.

Today I toured Jaisalmer fort. It's a majestic, massive structure that rises, golden, out of the desert. It's a beautiful, fascinating place that is still inhabited by some 4,000 people. I had an excellent tour guide, who I was reticent to use at first but am very glad I did. Tonight I head to Sam Sand Dunes for more touristy fun with the desert gypsies.

If India is teaching me anything, it's how much I take for granted living in the States. Right now, at the peak of the desert heat, I'm sitting in my hotel room (too hot to do anything else) with some fans blowing. The AC stopped working this morning because it runs on a generator which needs to juice up before it can turn on again. I hurriedly emailed my mom and lovely boyfriend from an Internet cafe this afternoon, because the hotel (which is a very nice hotel, it's not some hole in the wall!) has no Internet or WiFi. I am glad I have my driver because, as I learned the first day I was in Delhi, going around unaccompanied causes quite a stir. I try to ignore the blatant sexism and just pretend I'm on "Mad Men: India". While the people are warm, hospitable, and cheerful, most of them are so desperately poor, I spend at least a full hour of each day saying "no" to some tout or another (or on days of weakness, I cave). While the surroundings are astonishingly beautiful, when you look down, the streets are still filled with garbage and cow poop. It's a land of extremes, and it's still taking some getting used to.