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Published: November 26th 2006
After my whirlwind tour of India's famous Golden Triangle, I was off for a two-week tour through the State of Rajasthan (literally, the Land of Kings). This arid state in western India was once a land of independent areas/cities ruled by royal families with Maharajas (kings) and Maharanis (queens) who lived extravagant lives in palaces in the security of stronghold forts. The modern state of Rajasthan was officially formed when India gained its independence from the British, but the royal families in each famous city still have a presence to this day.
Over the two weeks, I visited the cities of Jaipur (as introduced in my last blog entry), Pushkar, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer, each with its own unique character. I've included a number of photos in this entry, so no links to yahoo photos this time around. Unfortunately, this blog contains no tool to control the layout of images, so text and photos are not aligned in context. Also, I seem to have found a decent map, which is also included as an image.
Jaipur I've already mentioned my stay at Hotel Diggi Palace and tours of the City Palace and Amber Fort. But after I said goodbye to
Another Map of Rajasthan
You can see the Delhi/Agra/Jaipur Golden Triangle I started wtih. Then off to Pushkar (via Ajmer) then Jodhpur, then Jaisalmer and Camel Safari in the desert just to the west.Holli and Trish, I had my first taste of true Indian hospitality, staying for three days with the extended family of one of my friends from Seattle. It was a true highlight of my experience!
The Murdia family (Vinod, Shurda, Nikky and Pallavi) took me in as a family member for three days. On my first night, we dined at the swanky Ashok Club, which belongs to the Royal Highness of Jaipur, who I would come to find out is a long-time friend of the Murdia's. From there on, I enjoyed home-cooked Indian food, had a chance to sample a few new dishes, chutneys, and desserts, and learned a little about entrepreneurship in Rajasthan - the family has owned and operated a scooter shop in the city for years, and Pallavi, at age 26, is a fashion designer with her own staff of 40 people who hand-craft garments in a workshop right at home! I also had time to continue visiting the city, taking a walking tour of the old pink city and visiting the Central Museum, before heading out to Pushkar.
Pushkar In Pushkar, I had my first real tastes of (1) Indian spirituality, (2) the desert,
Hawa Mawhal, Jaipur
Built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawaj Pratap Singh as part of the City Palace and (3) a backpacker haven.
Pushkar is a lovely oasis in the desert, a small town surrounding a sacred lake and lined with narrow passages and alleyways, but very few motor vehicles. The lake is said to have been created when Bhrama (the Hindu manifestation of god who created the universe) dropped a lotus flower in the desert. Each day, religious pilgrims and tourists come to make a puja (daily prayer) at the lake. What makes this particular area so unique, is that Bhrama (to my understanding) plays only a small role in the pantheon of Hindu deities. Basically, his work as a creator is already done, and is often seen in Hindu artwork sitting on a lotus flower extending from Vishnu's belly button. Much more attention is given to Vishnu, the sustainer of the universe and to Shiva, the destroyer (who's destruction is not seen as a negative, rather as that which makes future creation possible).
Because of its serenity, Pushkar is also the temporary (or not-so-temporary) home to throngs of western backpackers (and hippie/want-to-be-yogi-gurus) who seem to make extended visits to the small town and get entranced by its natural beauty, spiritual offerings, and apparently, lots
Monkey Market
After climbing down from the roof, this guy stopped to watch the busy market in Jaipur's old city. and lots of hashish. I caught up on my rest in a small guest-house run by a European woman fluent in seemingly every known language, finished my book, wrote in my journal, drank lots of chai, visited a number of temples, made Puja at the lake one evening, took a jeep tour in the desert to a less-frequented Rajasthani village, and eventually met back up with Trish, who joined me on the rest of the journey through the state.
Jodhpur Jodhpur, the blue city, was our next stop and marked the unwelcome return to traffic and pollution. We only stayed two days. But before I get ahead of myself, I must admit that the Mehrangar Fort (possibly misspelled, but accurate in photo captions) was one of my top highlights in India to date. The fort sits atop a hill overlooking the blue walls of the city, and is home to an immense palace for the historic maharajas. It's currently maintained by trust fund set up by the modern maharaja, who took the throne as a young boy (his father died in a plane crash) shortly after independence. Not only was he a child, but he would be the first
maharaja to have more of a figure-head role in the new country of India.
The fort's architecture was stunning. Mehrangar contains inspiring artifacts around every corner and on every level, and we learned amazing stories at each turn thanks to a wonderfully narrated audio tour.
In Jodhpur, I also had my second experience with Indian hospitality. On my first evening, I went to the post office to buy postcard stamps and Trish and I were invited to dinner at the home of the man working at the counter! So the next night, after visiting the fort, we went over to have dinner with Hansaman and his family. The family's english was somewhat limited, but apparently Hansaman invites traveler's to his house on a weekly basis, and we spent the evening sharing stories about our family's and looking at family pictures as well as photos of the other travelers who's visits preceded our own. It was completely unexpected, and one of those unique experiences I could have never planned.
Jaisalmer Continuing westward, Trish and I went to the smaller city of Jaisalmer on the edge of the Thar dessert, just 100 km from the Pakistan border. Jaisalmer is
a golden city, as nearly all of the buildings are made of sandstone- another magical oasis in the desert.
Also unique to Jaisalmer is its fort. Unlike the previous towns where forts are maintained as museums for historical interest (and modern tourist revenues) the Jaisalmer fort is still home to roughly 25% of the city's inhabitants. However, our guidebooks warned us that the water/plumbing issues in the fort are a serious problem, as it was never designed to have the current carrying capacity. We were strongly encouraged to stay in a hotel outside the fort, which we did.
Because of the extreme climate in the area, the Jaisalmer Fort was designed to maximize water capture (apparently, a year of plenty only brings about 15cm of rain) with all kinds of water capturing features that allow rain to gather in underground storage facilities for later use. Additionally, the maze-like pattern of corridors and passages in the fort were expertly designed to maximize breeze while minimizing the circulation of sand and dust. Back in the day (don't you love my historical accuracy) Jaisalmer was an outpost on the silk road between Arabia and China, and traveling traders would stop here
to trade goods and resupply while paying a tax to the city.
In addition to the fort (which was also home to an audio-tour enhanced palace) we visited a few traditional havelis just outside the fort. These old homes were built by wealthy residents of Jaisalmer and featured wonderful carvings and architectural features.
Stop, Camel Time Another attraction out in the desert, at least for tourists, is the camel safari. And Trish and I were not immune to the calls of the desert. So we finished our trip in Rajasthan with a day-and-a-half safari in the Rohi Desert, just south of Jaisalmer. There was Dilboi, our camel driver (who rode on Mr. Maroo) Trish (who rode on Bulldozer) and me (riding Rocket).
You know the famous saying, applicable for both life and travels, that it's not about the destination but its the journey itself that matters most? You know it, right? Let me tell you, in the case of camel safaris, it's the destination my friends, it's all about the destination!
Don't get my wrong, I absolutely loved the camel safari. Getting out into the peace and quiet of the desert was a welcomed respite from
Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur
That's no moon, it's a space station!
I mean, that's no hill, it's a space station! (actually, it's a fort on the hilltop in Jodhpur) the touristy areas we had been frequenting since leaving the Himalaya weeks before. And riding by camel, as opposed to jeep, maintains the peace and quiet, and sets you on a wonderfully slow pace to take in all the surroundings. Unfortunately, riding a camel is a bit painful and by the end of two days, I had a sore back, thighs, and tuchus, and I felt like my internal organs had a been shaken up in a blender thanks to our mix of walking (as you rock slowly back and forth, you naturally compensate by sitting up, and tiring your back muscles) and running (which bounces you straight up and down, causing all other aforementioned ailments).
But the destinations ... aah ... such simple joys. We stopped for lunch on the first day on a small patch of sand as Dilboi prepared chai, chapattis and aloo gobi. I must admit that as he cooked, we napped. But we had stopped under a tree where two other camel drivers were taking a break, having just said goodbye to their quarry of tourists, so he had company.
Afterwards, we ventured further into the desert, passing by a few farms here
and there, and seeing a few villagers herding goats or riding camels. We ultimately settled down to camp under the stars (no tents, just blankets on sand) at a sand dune that extended 1 to 2 km into the distance. The sunset was incredible, the soft cool sand was a welcome surface after the long day on the camels, and a wonderful place to sleep. Another villager joined us for the night (and sold me a coke while I bough Dilboi a beer). We had a clear night with amazing stars and no one else in sight. Dilboi sang a few desert songs for us, and we ate dal, rice, chapatti, and ... you guessed it ... drank more chai.
In the morning ... more chai ... and a breakfast of bread, oranges, hard boiled eggs, before hopping back on the camels for a two-hour trip to our jeep pickup. For the record, camel safaris are offered from one-to ten-day trips. And given more time in the area, I would have enjoyed a longer stay. One that involved multiple nights at the same sand dune instead of days and days riding on rocket's back!
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carrie
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neat photos! it's snowing in seattle!