jaisalmer (rajasthan), thursday 11 january
somehow, since i started planning this trip, i knew that jaisalmer would be my favorite place in india... and it certainly lived up to my expectations. we arrived yesterday morning at 6am on the overnight train from jodhpur. the train ride was very nice, we slept almost all the way throughout, although dana complained a lot about the not-so-pleasant smell of a backpacker (perhaps russian?) who slept on the berth just below hers. the good thing was that this time we didn't have to worry about getting food and water.
jaisalmer is a magical place. this town is located in the desert, one-hundred-something km from the border with pakistan. the houses and the fort on top of the hill are all made of sandstone and the sun gives a golden glitter to the whole town. the women dress in even more colorful dresses and, to our delight, even though this town is much smaller than the other cities we've visited, people are a lot cleaner (although osian was way smaller and much much dirtier).
we are amazed that all hotels here have let us sleep and shower in rooms even if we arrive at 6am, way before the check-in time, or in the evening before leaving town, way past our check-out time---and they don't charge anything extra! yesterday morning, we slept until 9.30am or so then headed out to the fort. the walk from our hotel to the fort was super nice. we saw another cow giving birth and right after the baby calf was born the first thing it did was to look for its mom's udder to eat... super cute. we also saw some kids flying very colorful kites. apparently, the strings they use here have crushed glass all along and the master of the kite is that who can cut the rival's string, killing the kite's flight.
inside the fort, life is much more hectic---and everything is way more touristy. the fort itself is not as impressive as jodhpur's, but they also have an audioguide and at least the first part of the tour is quite interesting (seems like they added the 2nd half just to make it longer but the info is not very relevant or interesting).
the most amazing jaisalmer experience began after our visit to the fort, at lunch. we stopped by vyas cafe, a place recommended by dana's 2002 lonely planet guide. it was strange because the door of the place was locked but people who worked next door asked us to knock and wait. after 3-4 minutes, we were about to leave, but a very old lady finally opened the door and prompted us in. we climbed the stairs (as always, the steps are always very high) and she asked us to remove our shoes and told us we could stay inside or go to the rooftop terrace.
the place was empty. the only other person there besides us was the old lady's grand-daughter, hansa. she had trouble bringing the dishware, water, etc. from the kitchen to the rooftop because a few days back some idiot on the street spilled boiling water on her leg and now the outside part of her calf is all burned and hurts. so, although the place didn't serve alcohol and rafa was craving a super thanda kingfisher (cold indian beer), we decided to eat in their kitchen to make their lives easier. we sat on the floor and saw the lady cook everything from scratch. using pipi as our interpreter, we talked to both the old woman and the girl the whole time and it was great. we learned that the girl's uncle lived in mumbai, that her parents were school teachers, that she was very good in math and that her dream is to study at IIT, india's most prestigious technical institute. for a girl in a 80,000-people town in the middle of the desert, those are huge ambitions, and i loved it.
anyway, this whole experience was unforgettable---but, unfortunately, not only in a good way. the food was rather oily and only ok, but rafa was happy to get his unlimited roti (indian bread). after we were done with the meal, rafa gave a huge jump all of a sudden which startled us and he stood up, then tried to pretend nothing had happened. he had seen a little mouse running along the wall next to him and dana and him were very grossed out, and the poor old lady was super embarassed and very apologetic. trying not to make a big fuss out of it, we thanked them heartily and left.
in the evening, we had another unforgettable experience---this one, unforgettable only in a good way. after we came back from our tour downtown (aka, cow central---by the way, we saw a good show of cows partying, cows having sex, cows fighting, etc.), we came back to the hotel and chilled in their rooftop cafe---super nice. later, we had a very nice dinner, met the chef---which happened to be also from bihar and pipi was super excited---, and chatted it up with a few guests and the hotel staff. we got a bottle of indian whiskey and drank with everybody, then got a surprise birthday cake for pipi. by the end of the evening, the hotel people had made a fire, and we all sat around it, drank, sang local and mexican songs, and talked for a long time, which reminded me of those winter nights when i went deer hunting with my dad and his friends when i was a kid, and it was awesome.
but the best part was yet to come. today i woke up a bit late and chilled on the rooftop until we had to leave for the desert. we drove on a jeep for about an hour or so and arrived in a very small village (500 people or so) in the middle of a barren landscape. our guide showed us his house (all of them made of a mix of sandstone and camel crap), then got ready to ride our camels...
the ride was out of this world! it is not too comfortable to ride a camel, mainly because it doesn't have a proper saddle like the one on horses and your legs are dangling all the time and your balls squeezed. even so, the experience was incredibly exciting, the barren landscape was beautiful and the whole procession in a caravan amidst the golden sand dunes made me feel as if in a movie. we arrived at the campsite, we sat by a bonfire, and our guide made us some delicious chai, some pakoras and other indian snacks, while the burning branches cracked on one side and the sun set on the other.
that evening, the only thing that made me forget these exquisite images was the view of a million stars in a pitch black night and the cool desert breeze, and i couldn't help thinking of the last drawing in le petit prince, my favorite story ever.
jaisalmer is a magical place. this town is located in the desert, one-hundred-something km from the border with pakistan. the houses and the fort on top of the hill are all made of sandstone and the sun gives a golden glitter to the whole town. the women dress in even more colorful dresses and, to our delight, even though this town is much smaller than the other cities we've visited, people are a lot cleaner (although osian was way smaller and much much dirtier).
we are amazed that all hotels here have let us sleep and shower in rooms even if we arrive at 6am, way before the check-in time, or in the evening before leaving town, way past our check-out time---and they don't charge anything extra! yesterday morning, we slept until 9.30am or so then headed out to the fort. the walk from our hotel to the fort was super nice. we saw another cow giving birth and right after the baby calf was born the first thing it did was to look for its mom's udder to eat... super cute. we also saw some kids flying very colorful kites. apparently, the strings they use here have crushed glass all along and the master of the kite is that who can cut the rival's string, killing the kite's flight.
inside the fort, life is much more hectic---and everything is way more touristy. the fort itself is not as impressive as jodhpur's, but they also have an audioguide and at least the first part of the tour is quite interesting (seems like they added the 2nd half just to make it longer but the info is not very relevant or interesting).
the most amazing jaisalmer experience began after our visit to the fort, at lunch. we stopped by vyas cafe, a place recommended by dana's 2002 lonely planet guide. it was strange because the door of the place was locked but people who worked next door asked us to knock and wait. after 3-4 minutes, we were about to leave, but a very old lady finally opened the door and prompted us in. we climbed the stairs (as always, the steps are always very high) and she asked us to remove our shoes and told us we could stay inside or go to the rooftop terrace.
the place was empty. the only other person there besides us was the old lady's grand-daughter, hansa. she had trouble bringing the dishware, water, etc. from the kitchen to the rooftop because a few days back some idiot on the street spilled boiling water on her leg and now the outside part of her calf is all burned and hurts. so, although the place didn't serve alcohol and rafa was craving a super thanda kingfisher (cold indian beer), we decided to eat in their kitchen to make their lives easier. we sat on the floor and saw the lady cook everything from scratch. using pipi as our interpreter, we talked to both the old woman and the girl the whole time and it was great. we learned that the girl's uncle lived in mumbai, that her parents were school teachers, that she was very good in math and that her dream is to study at IIT, india's most prestigious technical institute. for a girl in a 80,000-people town in the middle of the desert, those are huge ambitions, and i loved it.
anyway, this whole experience was unforgettable---but, unfortunately, not only in a good way. the food was rather oily and only ok, but rafa was happy to get his unlimited roti (indian bread). after we were done with the meal, rafa gave a huge jump all of a sudden which startled us and he stood up, then tried to pretend nothing had happened. he had seen a little mouse running along the wall next to him and dana and him were very grossed out, and the poor old lady was super embarassed and very apologetic. trying not to make a big fuss out of it, we thanked them heartily and left.
in the evening, we had another unforgettable experience---this one, unforgettable only in a good way. after we came back from our tour downtown (aka, cow central---by the way, we saw a good show of cows partying, cows having sex, cows fighting, etc.), we came back to the hotel and chilled in their rooftop cafe---super nice. later, we had a very nice dinner, met the chef---which happened to be also from bihar and pipi was super excited---, and chatted it up with a few guests and the hotel staff. we got a bottle of indian whiskey and drank with everybody, then got a surprise birthday cake for pipi. by the end of the evening, the hotel people had made a fire, and we all sat around it, drank, sang local and mexican songs, and talked for a long time, which reminded me of those winter nights when i went deer hunting with my dad and his friends when i was a kid, and it was awesome.
but the best part was yet to come. today i woke up a bit late and chilled on the rooftop until we had to leave for the desert. we drove on a jeep for about an hour or so and arrived in a very small village (500 people or so) in the middle of a barren landscape. our guide showed us his house (all of them made of a mix of sandstone and camel crap), then got ready to ride our camels...
the ride was out of this world! it is not too comfortable to ride a camel, mainly because it doesn't have a proper saddle like the one on horses and your legs are dangling all the time and your balls squeezed. even so, the experience was incredibly exciting, the barren landscape was beautiful and the whole procession in a caravan amidst the golden sand dunes made me feel as if in a movie. we arrived at the campsite, we sat by a bonfire, and our guide made us some delicious chai, some pakoras and other indian snacks, while the burning branches cracked on one side and the sun set on the other.
that evening, the only thing that made me forget these exquisite images was the view of a million stars in a pitch black night and the cool desert breeze, and i couldn't help thinking of the last drawing in le petit prince, my favorite story ever.
posted by adrián at 02:44
2 Comments:
NO MAMES WEY, PLEASE WRITE ASAP OK!!!!!!!
I JUST CAN WAIT TO READ ALL!!!!
AMAIZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
JAJAJAJAJ
MISSING U ALL
RAFA
En alguito nos parecemos...que padre comparacion con El Principito
Y voy a lo que sigue de esta historia!...me encanta como escribes
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