I can only repeat myself and say that I am sorry that there are no new (proper) updates. The days are long and so full that we just collapse into bed when it is over. There has simply not been any time for writing. I have tried to take notes at the end of each day, but that has also been hard. Further complicating the issue is a lack of computer access, as in, there are two of us who need to write, and only one PC to write on.
Anyway. We arrived in Udaipur today, the city with the floating temple. But so much has happened since my last proper post!
The post on the 4th is a lot shorter than I would like it to be, but there is not so much more to tell. As far as I remember we woke up late, skipped breakfast and went to the fort that day. Like most forts build by the Maharajahs, it was a work in progress for centuries and every new Maharajah added their distinct part to it right up into the 20th century. We had a good guide and got a lot of information.We got back to the car and drove - pausing for tea along the way - to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is about as close as your can come to the Pakistani border, ca. 100km further west. There was a lot of military vehicles and bases along the way. Before going to the hotel we stopped at a sort of pavilion just in time to watch the sunset. We then headed for the hotel. I must admit that I did not find Jaisalmer to be a very nice city that first night. Like most Indian cities it was very dirty and run-down, and our hotel was not in a very nice area nor in a good state. Still, it had its charme. There were large windows with pillows to sit on on the windowboards. Our driver then walked us to a sort of a museum/culture centre just in time to catch a marionette-theatre performance. While it was explained to us in broken english what each story was about, it was still hard to get exactly what was going on, and there was only one puppet in motion at a time/per story. I found the "volume" of the boy singing a little too loud as well. All in all, the performance was not overly my kind of entertainment, but as a cultural thing it was still interesting. We had been told to stay only on the same road as we had taken there and not stay out later than 8, so we went straight back to our hotel. We shared a round of Indian whisky with our driver and chatted a bit, then he arranged for someone to follow us to the main hotel building for dinner. It was not considered safe to walk the 500 meters or so alone. He is probably a little over protective, but I didnt mind to be honest, it WAS a shady neighbourhood. The rooftop restaurant was nice, but cold and windy. Food was nice though. We walked back with our driver and pretty much fell asleep as soon as we got to our room.
Day 5 started with light snoozing before we packed our bags and brought them ourselves to the main building without anyone tagging along. It was misty and the streets were empty. We had breakfast on the rooftop restaurant. As we wanted the Indian breakfast we had to wait a while as it was being prepared - continental breakfast had been available without waiting though. I get the feeling most tourists here go for the continental breakfast in many of the places we have been. After having eaten we met our driver in the reception and were introduced to a city guide. He walked with us up to the city fort. The fort in Jaisalmer is the second oldest fort in Rajastan (India?) and has the oldest temple. It is a very large fort, its outer wall is 5km long, it houses 5000 people, 50 hotels, 50 restaurants and 500+ shops. It got so large due to the fact that Jaisalmer was the first Indian city the camel caravans stopped at on their way from Afghanistan and other resource-rich countries, and the city accumulated large wealth. It is also a major source of concern. Jaisalmer is known as the Golden City as it is almost entirely made up of locally quarried unique sandstone. The fort is no different. The problem is water erosion and a history of water leaks in the fort. It is basically falling apart, no-one knowing when it will collapse. Probably sometime soon. Just a couple of years ago a part of an outer wall collapsed, killing 8 people in the streets below. After having walked through the castle, seeing its 4 gates, temples, shops, backyards and whatnots, we took a tuk-tuk to a cooperative textile store. I chose to buy a Kurta (shirt) and two trousers out of a fine cotton material know as Khādī. It is the type of cotton Gandhi promoted as a way of self-reliance and self-employment. Measurements were taken and I was promised that the garments would be delivered to our hotel within an hour. I also bought a nice cotton blanket, as I had been feeling cold the last nights. Moving on from the store, I stopped to make a withdrawal in an ATM to pay the rest of our booked journey. I needed 60'000 Rupees, and the machine could only do 10k per withdrawal - the line got long! Not that anyone were complaining. We then went on to a shop selling handbags, but found none that interested us. A bit further and we entered another Haveli, this time owned by the family of the prime minister of Jaisalmer. The family was still living there, and it was the lady of the house that showed us around. Again there was a shop, and we brought a few trinkets for gifts. Moving on, we landed in a different Haveli. Here it was a family of silversmiths - and an opportunity to offer us some silver items. It seems to be the de-facto way of doing things here. The tour guides get a few % of eventual sales that are completed if they bring customers. They are not even trying overly hard to hide it, it is clear by the way the guides help display the merchandise and talk with the shopkeepers that they go way back. It is still a lot more "in your face" than most of the shopkeepers on the street, and they are far less pushy about selling. It is just another way to make ends meet in a country without money.
Shopping here is a unique experience by the way. Whatever it is you are after, it works out in the same way. First you are offered whichever tea you prefer. You are then directed to a bench or other seating arrangements. The shopkeeper and assistants will lay down all their different merchandise in front of you, 20-30 carpets for example, or whole bags of jewellery, so that you can fiddle with it yourself and get a feeling for it. The items you are interested in are put aside, the rest are removed, and you focus on the remaining items. This way, many becomes few and finally only one or two and most likely a sale will be completed.
Anyway, we got back to our hotel, our items had been delivered as promised, and we set off towards Kkuri. On the way we stopped a couple of times. First to have lunch, like the previous road-side stops it was very nice and very cheap food. Cheap as in around Rs200 or under €3. We also stopped at a tiny lake. This time of year a special species of birds are staying there, coming all the way from Agra, every year. It was very tranquil. Until the children of the village showed up at least. Susanne had bought some sweets when we stopped for food (suggestion of the driver) and it got rather chaotic as she tried to give them out. We had to get into the car, lock the doors and open the window slightly to put one bonbon in each hopeful hand that came through the window. The children are not attending school and live pretty basic lives, and as such cannot really be expected to behave much differently. We were soon on our way again. The surroundings were now almost completely desert, with simple green vegetation clinging to life. After some driving, we turned off the main road and drove through a series of resorts and villages. At the end of the road we found ours, a nice desert resort consisting of an outer wall and several small clay huts with straw roofs as well as a couple of slightly larger buildings. We were offered tea and after explaining that we would rather not take the camel safari that had been booked for us (we thought we had already made this clear back in New Delhi, and that a jeep would be available instead) we decided to walk instead. It turned out to be the better idea anyway, as the sunset-spot was only 30-40 minutes away anyway. It was nice walking through the desert, so peaceful and quiet. A gazelle or something sprinted by and a few cows were roaming about but otherwise there was nothing. We were heading towards a large dune, and we could see the silhouettes of many camels and people on the top. Camels were arriving with people all the time, and we just made it to the highest top as the sun set.
Again one notices the lack of money. A father and son was walking by and said "hi" and asked which country, we answered. We didn't think much of it at the time. Walking a considerable bit further, they were suddenly there again. They simply asked our names (people here tend to ask your country, name and line of work, in that order) and suddenly they were doing a song for our names. How could one refuse to give a tip for that?
We also ran into a couple of boys selling various goods like beer, softdrinks and water up there.
A bit later, two small boys did the same "ask name and make song"-scheme. Got to admire the tactics though, it all happens far too fast to stop it, and to be honest, they probably do need the few Rupees more than us anyway so we didn't overly try to avoid it.
The sunset itself was perhaps somewhat of an anticlimax, as it just like the day before rather vanished in mist instead of "setting". For us however it was rather the walk that mattered. We started back for camp, using a huge tree close to the resort for navigation. That worked out quite well and even though it had gotten dark in the 30 minutes it took to walk back (used my Maglite the last 5 minutes to make sure we didn't stomp on any slumbering snakes or fell into any uncovered wells) we arrived safely and almost dead on target. Not bad for not having a compass. Next time Ill bring one.
Our driver was pacing around outside the complex, he had gotten a little worried for us. He was happy we were all-right and sent us into the complex where the evening show had just started. A group of locals were playing various percussion instruments and what could be described as a sub-genre of accordion, as well as singing, and a girl was doing traditional dancing in a nice outfit. We were sitting on a thick pillow on the ground with backrests and a low table, and we got some snacks served. I ordered a Pepsi and got a Coke (!), and Susanne got her tea. A large bonfire was burning in the middle of the courtyard. I used the chance to repair my shoulderbag. It has been with me since Finland all those years ago, and the seems were coming apart in a corner. With a little help of my Leatherman I managed to sort it out with a large carbine hook I had laying around. After some time, a buffet was opened. Food was nice, and as far as I remember (almost?) everything was vegan. When we were all full, the bonfire burned down and the entertainment finished, we settled in one of the huts. It was basic, only containing a bed and having a light-fixture with a power outlet on the wall. I was happy I had bought that blanket in Jaisalmer now!
Day 6 started off as nothing if not cold. The straw roof of the hut was hardly insulating, and with no source of heating inside there was no difference between inside and outside temperature. Not one to enjoy lower temperatures, it took me ages to get out of bed. My alarm first went off at 7 (waking up the entire camp, oups, the echo in the hut was amazing) but I was only ready with packing and dressing a bit after 8. Luckily for me the breakfast was very simple and thanks to Susanne whom had managed to get up a bit before me, already on its way. Warm tea helped a bit, as did warm toast. I am not sure which berries the red marmalade I keep eating here is made of, but it tastes nice. I traded my Roti for Susannes boiled egg and all in all had a nice basic breakfast. We were off just a little behind schedule after the toilet I had decided to get before leaving wasnt working and fixing it was a little tricky. Leatherman for the win.
At one point we stopped by an extended family living in a tiny little village made out of huts similar to the ones we had slept in. We met the leader of the village and many children and others came to look at the visitors. Again it got a little chaotic with the distribution of sweets for the kids, but the village leader got it sorted. They enjoyed having their picture taken and see themselves on the screen. A polaroid camera would have been great. We then arrived at Jodhpur, our bags got transferred to our room and we were told to go to the fort. We could clearly see it looming over the hotel Haveli, but we had to ask a couple of times to find the right paths up there between the maze of buildings. It took quite some time to walk up there. Entrance was Rs300 each plus a small fee for the camera, but then we also got to use an audio guide. It was yet another amazing fort. Like the others, continuously expanded by the succession of Maharajahs, but this one also very much differing from the other forts we had seen. At the end of the audio tour we walked back to our hotel. Susanne joined Sanji for a walk to the marketplace and a world famous spice market while I stayed in the hotel. I had been hoping for warm water so I could finally take a shower this day, and I was in luck. For the first time I found nice warm water and the ensuing shower was a healing experience. The one thing I miss here is just that, reliable warm water. Everything else is fine. When Susanne came back we had dinner on the rooftop restaurant, this one much warmer than the previous one. I made the mistake of ordering both a starter and a main course, and I was so full from the starter (the best kabab I have ever tasted) that there was no way I could finish the main course. Sad. We hit the bed pretty soon after that, having to get up pretty early.
Jodhpur is known as the blue city by the way. The reason is the blue paint seen on many of the buildings. It was initially reserved for the priests, and is a very good insect repellent. Now everyone can use the color and the city is, in many areas, truly blue.
Our hotel was another Haveli, and our room was very nice and clean. Coloured glass inserts in the windows and nice decor. The doors and windows led to the inner courtyard lit by nice coloured lights. Susanne says that this was her favourite room so far.
Day 7 started slow. I was still tired and the snooze button too tempting. Still so full from the dinner, breakfast was again skipped. We got up and packed in time, found someone to carry out bags down to the car and were on our way. It was a long drive, 300km or so, and we knew from experience that what would be a two-hour drive in Germany or a three-point-five hour trip in Norway would most likely take the entire day.
Indeed.
Our first stop was in Falna, a city most guides and drivers have never been in. It houses a very nice golden temple though and we were lucky to see it.
A while later we stopped in Ranakhpur. First at a nice touristy sport for lunch (breakfast). The recomandation was the buffet, and except the chicken curry the five other offerings were vegan. Not bad! It all tasted great and I had to get another plate, this time with all but the chicken. I find myself almost consistently taking the vegetarian option here. It is simply the better food, the non-vegetarian food often coming across as an afterthought. The only good non-veg food I have had so far was the sheek kabab.
After lunch we went across the road to visit a Dhurrie-weaving-family. The shop there was a representation of a 75-person large family all working with making dhurries. A dhurrie is similar to a carpet, but differs in that it can be used on both sides, is considerably lighter and can be washed. The traditional Norwegian "fillerye" would be an example, although the dhurrie is a far more intricate piece of work.
We then proceeded through the little complex of buildings, down a set of stairs in what during the monsoon season works as a jetty for boats and across stepping stones in a shallow stream. Then we walked uphill for a while until we were met by an amazing sight. A large dam had been constructed and a lake had formed. The jungle and water stretched for many kilometres. Last month our driver had brought a couple here that had seen 3 crocodiles, we did not see any though. Not that I have any need of seeing them, I have already experienced BBC's Planet Earth in HD on a 82" screen. Thats close enough.
Walking back, Sanji suddenly stops and points to the ground. "Look, snake-home!" He is pointing to a hole in the ground. Susanne asks if there are poisonous snakes in this area? "Yes."
Back in the car, we go on for a bit. We then stop at the Ranakhpur Jain Temple complex. This was a very nice place. 3 temples on the grounds with a 4th just next to it, it was such a wonderful and tranquil setting. Jain is a religion "recently" separated from Hinduism. Jainists will not harm any life. They do not use animal products and they do not use shoes. Shoes are not allowed inside the temples, nor are leather items. One should not consume any edibles inside. Technically one should also not use socks, but they are not so strict with that when it comes to tourists. We took them off anyway. It is nice walking barefoot on the smooth stone floors, especially as there are no pigeons there...
When buying tickets for the main temple, the ticket salesman immediately switched to German with Susanne. How he figured out where she came from remains a mystery.
The temples were all extremely detailed with an unfathomable amount of details carved into the rock. Inside the main temple we got "guided" by one of the police officers posted to make sure no-one took pictures of the idols (for a 'fee' of course), and we ran into the high priest of the complex. He remembered just last month having the Norwegian crown prince and his family there on a private visit on their way to holidays in Goa. He asked if we would let him pray for us, and we agreed. It was an impressive experience. He and Susanne found it interesting exchanging views on veganism and animalfree lifestyles.
Still having some naan-bread in my pocket, I made one of the dogs laying around happy. So many people warned me of the dogs. The scary aggressive rabiesinfested starved hounds laying in wait in the shadows ready to pounce. Dogs here are everything but that. They are shy and afraid of approaching people. They are mostly laying around, sleeping. And so far, they are generally not starving, but usually able to scrounge up food somewhere, somehow. Like the cows, the pigs, the goats and the people sharing the city with them. Still, I was able to get two dogs to accept a piece of bread out of my hand so far, two more only approaching the bread after I took a step back.
What noone have bothered warning me about, however, is monkeys. They are vicious little beings just waiting for an opportunity to spring at you with everything they've got. At least that's how I feel about them so far, not that I've gotten close to them at all. They're scary enough at a distance. Oh, and Sanji promised us to show us a cobra, he often sees them along the road. I think Ill just stay in the car.
To reach the last temple, Sun Temple, we had to leave the first complex and follow the road a bit. This temple was, if not less impressive, at least less grand than the others. Here it was also clear that the priests tending it were living inside, and it had a more "used" feeling to it. Not that that detracted from the overall feeling of it, it was nice seeing it. Just as we exited the gate, Sanji came driving. Talk about perfect timing of unplanned events!
It was only ~80 km left to Udaipur, but we spent many hours on the drive. Most of the remaining distance was single lane mountain roads, reminiscent of the himalayan roads of death with a few meters extra to go on before the chasms leading down into the jungle. Here another use of the horn was introduced, sounding every time one was about to enter a corner. Which was often.
It was dark long before we arrived at the hotel. I truly prefer the desert and the jungle to the city. Udaipur is, like the other cities, dirty and broken. Unlike the green, friendly, peaceful city I experienced Bremen to be the year I lived there, the cities here are pressing, crowded, smelly dirty concoctions of people and vehicles and animals. I get the same feeling every time I arrive; I have to stay HERE an entire night? Being an autist with slight traces of socialophobia does not help I guess. I should also add that I usually have a completely different view on a city before I leave it though, thanks for the guides taking us through each city and its history. I also think that the city changes character at night, and we usually only arrived after sunset. Especially the part of the city we are in now gives me that initial feeling. It was further confirmed by the hotel management and our driver; we stay in the hotel tonight and get food from the restaurant - not walking about outside. The hotel is completely different from the surroundings though. It is an enormous Haveli tucked away deep inside a block of houses. It is my favorite room so far, by far. Not just because I have unlimited access to wireless internet from the bed for the first time in India, but the layout and size and everything. It is nothing short of a suite; opening the door you get to a seating room with two tables, a sofa and several chairs as well as a TV. Large paintings on the walls which are covered by painted tiles. Curtains on one side of the room reveal sleeping alcoves, and the alcoves have windows with colored glass inlays looking down into one of the courtyards.
Further into out suite one passes through one of two portals and gets to the bedroom. The nicest, softest bed so far! Continuing on, one gets to another seating area with a huge mirror and more windows into the courtyard. Then one gets to the bathroom, which has no less than 6 different ceiling heights! Throughout the suite, there are paintings IN the wall, the roof is full of handpainted roses and there are counless details in every corner.
After settling down here for a bit - we will stay here in Udaipur until the 9th - we took the elevator up to the restaurant. It was one of the old elevators where you have to open and close the two doors individually before it will move. We decided to have our dinner (a light snack really, as we were still full from lunch) on the roof terrace. We got tea and I ordered a veg.-burger and fries. They could not make the burger so they suggested pizza instead. I opted for the garlic/mixed-veg. pizza. I got the pizza and fries, it was all very yummy. It was already late, but we wanted to take this chance to work on our blogs. And suddenly I had written this and it was 04:30 local time.. I guess I sleep now.
~750 pictures are being uploaded to my Flickr-account so make sure you check that out. Most pictures have been taken by Susanne, she us turning out to be quite the mamarazzi. She is also taking notes in her little book, making sure we wont forget anything. Without her notes and her pictures I would never have been able to write all this tonight, I have problems remembering what happened this morning already, let alone what happened many days ago. Still, I did not do a proper selection of pictures, just chose those that looked like they might give an impression or tell a story based on their thumbnail, I do not have the time not interesting in going through each and every picture individually before uploading. Still, of the 2300 pictures taken so far (ok, she is a one-woman-NGC-team) I have chosen less than half. I hope most are sharp and that most are adding to your impression of this country and our journey.
I hope this was all readable, I must sleep now, perhaps I get around to touch it up when I come back in the evening. I don't see too many red lines at least so I guess I got the worst kinks sorted out.
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