jaisalmer, or part 2

so we left jodhpur and headed to jaisalmer, in an overnight, a.c. train which turned out to be surprisingly easy to sleep on. the train crew is super anal about who sleeps where, but i was able to convince p+s that it would be safer for me as one of only 2 white women in the crowded car, to sleep on the top bunk ... and i slept fine. there is of course no privacy whatsoever, so we had to sleep in our clothes. the locals don't seem to mind though, and they feel free to change, fart, pick their noses, scratch their balls, and do pretty much anything they feel like doing at any time. we crashed almost immediately, and i didn't wake up until the conductor's assistant walked through the car, literally whispering "jaisalmer, jaisalmer." rarely is someone so polite or quiet here!

the minute we stepped off the train, we wished we had stayed in jodhpur longer. it was 530 in the morning, and we were pretty disoriented. being the only whiteys around, we were instantly surrounded by rickshaw and cab drivers, hotel hustlers, touts, porters, and anyone looking to sell something. these guys are relentless. they do not take no (even if spoken emphatically and explicitly in hindi, which i'm proud to say i can now do!) for an answer. they will simply persist until you give in, tugging on your clothes, grabbing your bags, trying to steer you to their vehicle. they'll even fight with each other to get your business. most of them have arrangements with local shop and hotel owners, so that if they bring 'rich' foreigners (read... any foreigner) into the establishment, the owner will give them a commission. if you ask to go to a hotel or shop that doesn't give out commissions, the driver will say it no longer exists, has burned to the ground, is shut down for repairs, or simply refuse to take you there ... driving instead to a commission-paying place. it's infuriating!

jaisalmer turns out to be more of a glorified village than a town. bombay, in comparison, is clean, orderly, and modern!! each road in jaisalmer is lined on either side by open gutter/sewers, into which literally everything goes. not only are there the requisite cows, donkeys, and dogs roaming the streets, but jaisalmer also has an abundance of boars and little boar piglets running around ... rooting in the sewers, eating everything in sight. there's an old fort in this town as well, but it's not nearly as exotic as jodhpur's. there are several people living within this fort, and it is a somewhat bustling area with run-down guest houses, internet cafes, shops, and temples.

definitely the highlight of our stay there was the camel safari. we found a travel agent near the fort gate who specializes in them, and walked in. we were met by 'mr. desert.' mr. desert is the only man to win the mr. desert competition multiple times, resulting in the 'mr. desert emeritus' title. each year jaisalmer hosts a desert festival, comprising of many competitions. there are beauty competitions for both women and men (mr. desert) and for the best mustache (!), tug of war for indians vs foreigners, camel polo, turban tying contests, and contests where women carry jugs of water on their heads... all kinds of crazy, as of yet non-olympian events. mr. desert is very proud of his title, not at all humble, and quite a character, demanding that we take his picture after he adjusted his 'stache and changed his headgear. we booked a safari on the spot.

we met again at the shop later in the day and were whisked away in an open-air jeep. we bounced along for 2 hours, going deeper and deeper into the desert. it was insanely hot and just as windy, sand blowing eeevvveeerywhere. we wrapped our heads in shawls, and our cameras in plastic. eventually we came upon our guide, who happens to also be the owner of the camels we rode. he lives in a desert village and he and his young nephew accompany the tourists to guide the animals and cook. we rode the camels for a few hours, stopped to watch the sunset, and then set up camp nearby. our guide and his little helper cooked an amazing and enormous meal over a campfire, which we ate with (almost) cold kingfishers. we then stretched out on cots, burrowed under thick quilts and contemplated the stars. it was a little tough to get used to the fact that we were just plopped in the middle of the desert, sleeping out in the open ... and i probably would have slept better if the wind hadn't lifted half my cot off the ground from time to time!

riding a camel is easy (at least at the leisurely pace were were moving). mounting and dismounting is not so easy. at least for someone of my diminutive 5'1.5" stature. standing next to a sitting camel, the saddle came up at least to my waist. i needed assistance even getting my leg over! then the camel rises. and not smoothly. first the hind legs begin to straighten out, it's butt shoots up in the air, and if you're not leaning waaaaaay back in the saddle, you'll topple off. then the front legs come up, and suddenly you're really high up! i loved it. i also loved the desert. incredibly peaceful, simple and oh so enormous. ... we got up the next morning, had a simple breakfast, and headed out for a few more hours of camel riding before meeting up with the jeep and returning to town.

we stayed on in jaisalmer that night and left on another train to delhi, where we booked a flight to leh ... which ended up being easily my favorite part of the whole trip.