One thing in India that seems to actually work properly is the train system, generally running with surprising efficiency. Although most of the trains are completely run down and the stations a heaving mess of humanity and livestock (and the subsequent filth produced by the two living so closely together), there was a calming sense of relief for me during our overnight train journeys: a brief respite from the chaos and craziness that seemed to surround us during our every move. The uniformed cabin attendants work with dignified pride, dishing out blankets, cold beer, and bottled water while middle-class passengers sit in (relative) air-conditioned comfort. We made the uneventful overnight journey from Delhi to Jaisalmer in just under 20 hours, and managed to make a friend along the way: Miko, a Japanese guy from Yokohama who was taking a year off from his executive desk job to travel around Asia.
Having already made a reservation at the Desert Boys guest house, we were met by our driver (and joined by Miko, who hadn't booked anything in advance) and taken directly to the Jaisalmer fort, which dominates the town... This place is unlike anything I have ever seen and undoubtedly deserves it's UNESCO listing as one of India's most treasured heritage sites... The people of Jaisalmer have lived inside the fort since the mid-1400's, when it's construction was started by one of the Mughal kings of the time... Intricately carved almost entirely out of limestone, it has to be seen to be believed: like something from an Arabian fairy tale. India, and in particular Rajasthan, is littered with forts from the same era, but Jaisalmer stands out as one of the very best: it stands perched at the top of a massive hillside, looking westward towards the Pakistani border, only 80km away, over an expanse of scrubby trees and sand dunes. At sunset, the view from the top of the fort is nothing short of sheer magic. From that back of our driver's rusting Jeep, our first view of the fort was met with gasps from all three of us.
We met the super friendly owner of the guest house who immediately offered us cold bottles of Coke and fizzy water, and we retreated to the darkest, innermost rooms of the building... the coolest place to sit and chat. The temperatures outside were nearing 46C/115F degrees and just the ride from the train station to the guest house left me in sort of a daze. Our room, which we were guaranteed would be air-conditioned, was actually "air-cooled" - a term I have never heard outside India. An air-cooler is simply a metal box containing a fan and a shallow pan of water: the fan blows air across the cold water to create a cool breeze... although the water wasn't cold and the air cooler felt more like a hair dryer. The staff at the hotel rushed around in a frenzy to try and accommodate us and make us more comfortable, but the fact of the matter was that the heat wasn't going to go away and nothing short of an air-conditioner was going to change the situation. The temperature in our room was absolutely sweltering; I cannot describe exactly how hot it felt to us at that moment. This was a theme to be repeated over and over again during the next 6 days in Jaisalmer: completely drowsy from heat stroke and exhausted by the efforts of everyone around us to sell something or provide some sort of unnecessary and unwanted service.
No trip to Jaisalmer would be complete without the obligatory "camel safari," a day long or overnight trip out to the sand dunes to ride camels and visit local villages. Although challenging due to the heat, this was one of the highlights of our entire time in India. We convinced Miko to come with us for the day, and including the English couple whom we spotted eating (and complaining about the food) at the same restaurant the previous evening, there were just 5 of us. Our driver was a fat, funny man who insisted his name was "Lemon Soda;" he quickly rounded us up into his Jeep for a long ride due west, straight into the heart of the desert.
We drove off-road a few times (although the road was little more than a dirt track), across the scrub of the desert, until we arrived at a tiny Muslim village in the absolute middle of nowhere. The villagers all came out to meet us, and it was apparent that Lemon Soda knew these people well and spoke their language (which was not Hindi). They were also incredibly friendly, which is not to be said about all Indians. They apparently did not want anything from us and made no attempts to ask for money, shine our shoes, sell us CDs, or lure us into a taxi. This was one of the most satisfying (and least voyeuristic) experiences I have ever had visiting "the locals" anywhere in the world and certainly wish that we would have had more time to spend with these lovely people. Their homes were adobe-style domes, constructed of camel dung and sticks, with a fire pit in the center. I couldn't believe how welcoming they were, inviting us inside to check it out. Wonderful!
After visiting three similar villages, we met up with several guys who were leading 5 camels towards us, which I correctly assumed were for us to ride. No real problems here and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and manageable my camel was: I had imagined a flea-bitten, aggressive camel who would spit at me and run off into the distance... but as luck would have it, we actually got along quite well. We rode for about two hours (which is plenty, believe me) and then stopped while the guys prepared some dinner over an open fire... Our little group chilled on a large rug spread across the sand, watched the sun set, and enjoyed dahl and rice with roasted black cumin seeds... delicious!
Next time: Escaping Jodhpur x more soon! Jason
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