Sorry for the lack of updates, but internet access is not good out here in the desert. This area is just starting to get hotels, etc. for tourists and internet cafes are pretty poor. I did find one in Jaisalmer, but they didn’t know how to connect their own computer up! Unfortunately, the network's too slow to upload photos, so I'll do it when I get to Delhi. So onto two days of updates.
Besides Jaipur, Jodhpur is my favorite place in India. The Majaraja and his family have done an amazing job of bringing industry and income into the area. It’s probably that I was just in the better areas, but I saw little poverty and a lot of parks, atheletic facilities, nicer cars and generally happier people. I was very sad to leave – I would love to have spent more time there.
So this morning we checked out of the hotel and I visited the a memorial to one of the Maharajas and the Fort in Jodhpur. It was absolutely beautiful and the view was stunning. From up there you could see why they call Jodhpur the blue city. The museums inside were stunning and the people were very interesting. I’ve posted many pictures of the fort on flicr, so have a look. There is a temple at the back of the fort that was the destination for many pilgrims. There was a rest stop set up for them just outside the gates and they came walking in waving their flags happy that they were almost at their destination.
Afterwards, Anand and I took off for Jaisalmer. We had to drive nearly 4 hours out into the Thar Desert to get there. Now when I think of desert, I think of sand dunes and not much else. This desert is very different. Much of is flat and there is some vegetation and a few trees around. But the only reason that there’s any green (and this is true of all of Rajisthan) is that we’re near the end of monsoon season. Within a month, everything will be dead and brown. Ranjee had told me that this is also true of Jaipur and that I am lucky to have come at this time when everything is in bloom.
We again passed many pilgrims – not nearly as many as yesterday, but definitely a few hundred. There was a point in the journey when the road and gutters were filled with sandals and shoes. Apparently, many shed their shoes as they march across the desert to show even greater sacrifice and devotion. I can’t imagine walking barefoot in this heat! I deleted many of yesterday’s pilgrim photos because they were “dri ve bys” and thus blurry. After, I realized that I hardly had any photos left. Today I took a lot and will post anything that looks remotely usable.
As we approached Jaisalmer, we saw many windmills and eventually the buildings. The fort looms over the town (of course you knew there had to be a fort), but it all looks so different here. Everything is made of sandstone and I’ve seen very little marble. Such a difference! We checked into the hotel, went for lunch (I finally persuaded Anand to have lunch with me) and went into the old city. We quickly found a havalli, which is an open air mansion with amazing detail in the architecture. They have a few open to the public and I went inside the biggest. The inside was immaculately preserved and I have photos of each of the main rooms of the home as well as a turban room and some others. We walked through the market (another instance of having to say no 30 times to each person) and then visited the lake in town.
I spent the evening talking with the hotel manager. He had many questions about life in the US. Everytime I mentioned that I needed to go to sleep, he’d say “just one more question”. I was up late and was yawning this morning when Anand came down to the lobby. They kept him up until after 1, so we were both pretty tired today.
I took a quick look at the Fort before we left. Unfortunately, it’s a little ghetto city up there with nothing much else, so I got accosted by nearly everyone trying to sell me something. I found one place with a view of the city, took a couple of pictures and then ran for the car. We then drove 5.5 hours through the desert to Bikamer. We’ve just arrived and I’ve eaten.
After posting this, I’m going to sleep for a while. I really just want to relax before tomorrow. We have a 9 hour drive back to Delhi – UGH! I’m not sure if the UGH is referring to the drive or to Delhi itself. Probably Delhi itself. Anand gets to see his family and I have a day or so to buy a camera for Africa and see the place where Ghandi was cremated. Let’s hope I make it out of that city in one piece!
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