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Published: December 13th 2008
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Jaisalmer
Fort from a different angle! The whole group seemed to be please to get away from the smog and hectic environment that is Delhi. Our route was an 19hr overnight train to Jaisalmer. This was not to be the heavy drinking scenario associated with our previous train trips in Vietnam. These were sober, quiet events with people going to bed at around 2100 hrs and only waking up when the Charwallers are screaming through the windows at around 0500hrs. To our surprise the train was not delayed and we got Jaisalmer around lunchtime. We were really impressed with our accommodation which was actually inside the massive fort associated with the town and our room was the best for the views (according to the Lonely Planet Guide). There is nothing quite like sitting on a roof top restaurant with a glass of beer, looking across towards the Thar desert, at sunset. Gary of course took his obligatory "arty" photos (see later). The whole area is well set up for tourists, so the shops are full of the usual goods that appeal to the shoppers in the group (women). Carolyn had some time alone with the local traders exchanging hard currency for some local handicrafts.
A key feature
of the Jaisalmer visit was to be the camel safari in the desert. We left the best room in the hotel for a 45min trip in a jeep to a desert location where the camels and their guides were waiting for us. Gary's camel (we each had one) looked slightly disturbed that he was to get the heaviest of the group and was almost pleading with the other camels to take him instead, but to no avail. The plan was to have a tootal around for about 2hrs, camp for the night by a sand dune, get some more photos of the sunset and then have an early morning camel ride and return to Jaisalmer around 10.30am. After about 30mins into the initial ride most people had had enough of camel ride mainly due to the incesscent bouncing, especially for the girls who did not pack a sports bra. Gary was in relative pain from buttock chaffing, which turned to significant pain when his camel started running. The camp site was 12 camp beds exposed to the desert sky. We were supplied blankets, but no waterproof covering, which was a bit of a worry as the previous night had been
noteworthy for the spectacular thunder storm (with associated rain and lightening). We were lucky though as it was to be a clear night. We were also lucky in that a travelling musician was passing nearby and after his long 10km walk he would love to give us a couple of tunes on his instrument that sounded remarkably like a cat being strangled or if you cannot imagine that then think of a bagpipe being played by a novice. 15 excruciating minutes later his hand was outstretched for some of our cash. If we did not give him some he may well have stayed and played some more.
Dinner was served by the camel herders (owners) and then it was time for more entertainment (in the loosest sense of the word) involving a plastic container and a guy that failed at the first hurdle in the "Desert's got Talent" competition and a strange dance involving the head honcho and the other guy on the trip (it was love at first sight). An early start allowed us to be back on the camels by 0730hrs, with all the aches and pains from the first day's ride. To our surprise we entered a
Jodphur - The Blue City
View from the Fort Walls village about 400m away from where we camped and saw the "travelling musician" having breakfast at home. 10 kms my arse - the lying git.
We moved from the Golden City of Jaisalmer to the Blue City of Jodphur by local bus, which was an experience in that it was better than we thought, although there were some strange events going on at each stop where loads of people get on, the same people then get off, there is a shuffling of people on the seats, the same people get back on again (sitting on the floor) and then money changes hand.
Carolyn was lucky as she had a young boy reading her book, outloud, over her shoulder- in her ear for 2 hours. On our arrival at Jodphur we settled into our hotel, another suberb location which gave us spectacular roof top views of the fort and surrounding blue buildings. A highlight of this stopover was that we went "clubbing" and managed to clear the dancefloor with our western moves - although it may well have been the DJ who decided to play "I'm too sexy" by Right Said Fred that was the catalyst. A weird but enjoyable night
Lake at Udaipor
The lake had a significant amont of weed build up was had by all who went, but the thought of a 6 hour early morning bus journey stopped the revelry before midnight.
Next stop,Udaipur, although it is not associated with any colour, it is associated with the film Octopussy, which is shown every night in a whole array of restaurants and bars. The town is great but the film has Roger Moore playing 007 and therefore incredibly cheesy!!! The town has a massive palace complex on the shore of Lake Pichola, with a "floating" hotel and an additonal island hotel within the lake itself. This is another beautiful setting for a glass of wine at sunset - cue Gary (the photo geek!). Udaipur is also famous for its intricate minature paintings and therefore you get hassled by a whole group of artists, "art teachers" and associated salesmen. Overall Udaipur was a good chilling out location prior to an early morning train ride to Pushkar. There was nothing really remarkable about the train journey apart from our ability to attract local muscians. This time it was 3 young lads (6-10 years old) who were insisting on banging tambourines whilst screaming out Hindi tunes, we were so pleased that there was an
armed soldier on the train who told them to go away. Our ears are still ringing now from the excruciating sound.
Pushkar is an extremely religious area surrounding a lake and therefore it could almost be described as "hippy central" for the Westerners that have come and stayed. It has the only Brahmin temple in India. There is no alcohol, meat or eggs in the area, so Gary was really pleased to move on after 2 nights here. We were told that the sunrise is a beautiful sight from the top of a local hill, but we would need to leave at 0500hrs to get there before the sun poked its head up above the horizon. This as it turned out was another bit of poor information as we managed to get up the 500 or so steps before 0600 and it was another 90mins before the sun finally appeared. (it wasn't even that good due to the haze and the chai supplied at the top was only so-so). On our way down we popped to the lake for a photo opportunity and were accosted by some local guys who showed us the Poojah, at a cost (of course!). For
The Bathing Ghats at Pushkar
The pigeons leave a significant amount of poo on the steps. You notice when you are in bare feet!! members of our friends and family please feel that the upturn in your fortunes over the last week is due to our blessing you at the lake.
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