Ups and Downs of Traveling

Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008--Jodhpur to Jaisalmer

I was up early and ready to get out of Jodhpur. The room I had was just too depressing for me to want to stay there and see any of the sights. Plus, it seems that what there is to see in Rajastan is similar in each city.

I got to the bus station at 6:30, and there was a bus leaving then. It was a lucky occurrance, because there was a young Australian man on it, too, and we quickly became friends. Lindsay, 27 years old, is a former teacher who is traveling while waiting to see if he has been accepted into medical school. He has volunteered at Mother Teresa's Charities in Kolkata and was going to Jaisalmer for his last days before flying to Nepal for a month. We talked and talked and talked. It was quickly obvious that we were kindred spirits.

The trip was not without some adventure, however. The Hindus here in this part of India are wanting the government to give them free land, and they are wanting the land that currently belongs to Muslims. Therefore, there are problems. The Hindus have been blocking the transport of goods to Kashmir over this, and that gets most of the news coverage. But here in Rajastan, they have been calling strikes. They called a general strike for today from 9:00 until 11:00. Because we were on a remote highway, it didn't effect us until about 10:20 when we approached a town. The bus driver was told of the problem, so he tried to go around the road block before reaching it. He headed across just open land. (The land here is dry, crusty desert.) We were bouncing between homes and reached the streets of the town. He went through them to the other side of town and then turned out toward the highway again. But we got caught there. We had to wait until 11:00 before we could continue.

Jaisalmer is a wonderful city. It seems more like a place in Egypt rather than in India. There is desert all around, and the buildings of the town are all in a beige stone with lots of ornate stone carvings creating tiny grillwork to let the light in without letting the direct sunshine create problems with heat. There is a huge fort on a hill, but even the modern town looks old. The city requires all construction to be of that stone and to be in the old style (somewhat like Santa Fe in the U.S. does with the Spanish-style architecture). Lindsay and I went looking together for rooms. We found a clean, fantastic place and got rooms for only $2 per night including private baths.

One of the things to do in Jaisalmer is to take a camel safari into the dessert. I had not planned to do so, because I have taken a desert safari in Egypt and I have ridden exotic animals before. But Lindsay was interested in just the half-day safari. I decided to go with him, since the price was good and we were getting along so well.

Lindsay, a young Italian woman staying at our guest house, and I all set out around 16:00 in a jeep. We went to some old tombs called Barra Bagh outside of town. We went to a beautiful Jain temple at Lodurva. Then we arrived at the site for the camel ride. Lindsay and I rode together, because we got a discount on our trip for going together. Our two camels were led by local boys whose families owned them. We were riding on "Bob Marley" and Rosella was riding on "Bin Laden." We followed a trail through the desert and to the top of a large dune (pronounced "djune" by Australians). There we dismounted and enjoyed the view. Normally, there would be a sunset view, but today there were clouds. Of course there were the usual hawkers there trying to get money from the tourists for playing music, for having their photos taken in desert clothing, for selling drinks and snacks, etc. But we enjoyed ourselves and tried to stay away from them. After a while, we returned to the village on the camels and entered a resort where a buffet dinner was provided. It was good food that was a bit bland due to worries about tourists not liking spicy food, and they encouraged us to eat all we could. I especially enjoyed trying the desert roti (flat bread made with millet). The deserts were good, too. One was a mixture of old flat bread with sugar and spices.

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008--Jaisalmer

Lindsay and I went to the Fort at 9:00. We spent 4 hours wandering through the streets, seeing the museum which is the former palace, and eating. (I had paneer cheese in a tomato-spice mixture.) We met a nice painter who does minitature Indian paintings and has an MFA degree. He talks so softly and does not put the hard sell on people. We both agreed that we would want him as a friend if we lived there.

Lindsay had a train reservation in the afternoon for Delhi where he will catch his flight to Nepal. I saw him off and will miss him.

Afterwards, things seemed a bit quiet. A couple of the hotel employees seemed to like me and we visited when they took breaks. I walked around town exploring other areas. I never found a cyber cafe at a reasonable price. They all were in collusion with a set high price, so I decided not to use any of them while there. A tailer asked if he could make a sketch of my zip-off leg travel pants so he could offer similar items to other travels, so I visited with him and he drew a picture and made notes.

I found a restaurant that was quite good. I ate a paper masala dosa (huge crispy pancake filled with spicy potato mixture with a coconut sauce and a spicy sauce served on the side). Ummm. And it was nice and spicy.

I just read in my room in the evening. I was asked to join a couple of the employees on the roof where Lindsay and I had joined them the night before. The air there is cool and it is pleasant to visit there. But I was tired and just stayed inside my room.

Friday, Aug. 15, 2008 (Independence Day in India)--Jaisalmer to Udaipur

I checked out of my room at 9:00, but my night bus wasn't until 2:30. The cleaning boy who was going to his village for a festival in the evening wanted me to give him money. I refused. Indians always seem to think that what others have should be theirs. To avoid more problems, I decided to stay away from the hotel until I had to return at 1:30 to pick up my luggage for going to the bus.

I returned to the fort and talked to the artist again. I toured a haveli, one of the rich merchant's homes. It was a school holiday, so I met some children and visited with them for a while.

I returned to the restaurant where I had eaten last evening. This time I had mutter paneer (peas and cheese in a sauce) with chipati flat bread. Again, it was spicy and delicious.

After getting my luggage, I walked to the bus station. It was all downhill, so there was no stress. And that way I avoided having to deal with a tuk tuk driver. I had reserved a sleeper. I was surprised at how nice it was--a long compartment with sliding glass doors. I had an upper sleeper, so it made it even nicer. There was also a sliding glass window that opened to the outside. It was my own private space. But trouble came soon enough.

This is not just Independence Day. It is also a 3-day holiday made up of a festival in which families get together and brothers and sisters exchange gifts. Everyone, like the cleaner at my hotel, is going home to be with families. A man from the bus company came onto the bus to tell me an an Australian woman in the compartment next to me that we could have the sleeper to Jodhpur, but then we would have to get off because others had reservations. Well, those of you who know me will know how I reacted. I had a ticket that showed that Seat M was mine all the way from Jaisalmer to Udaipur and that I would not leave. Soon the woman was going along with me. They tried every trick in the world. After originally telling us we would have to get off in Jodhpur and catch another bus in the morning, they told us they could put us on another bus with sleepers. Then they wanted us to get off and wait for the other sleeper which I am sure would have never come. We just told them they could put the other passengers in those sleeper beds on the other bus. They stopped for a rest stop and encouraged us to get off. We didn't budge. They offered for us to move across the aisle to a double sleeper, but then we wouldn't have had the right ticket and they could have kicked us off. We stayed put. I put my legs through the straps of my bags and I held onto the window bar in case they tried to physically remove us. I also said that I would expect someone to call the police if they tried to pull us off. The man was yelling at us, but we weren't moving. Finally they realized they couldn't win, since both of us were holding tickets that showed we had reserved the spaces for the whole trip. After Jodhpur, they never bothered us again. But what a hassle. And we never left our seats the whole time which meant we went 16 hours without going to the toilet or eating.

Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008--Udaipur

We arrived here at 5:00. The Australian woman and I took a tuk tuk to an area with lots of tourist hotels. The one we wanted, which has a pool, was undergoing remodeling. There was noise and the pool was not open for guests. But nearby was a totally new place that had just opened two weeks ago. We went there with its manager. The rooms are very clean with white marble floors and the baths are immaculate with nice tile and marble floors. We got a good price, but only one room was available at the time. She took it, and I waited on the rooftop until guests checked out later in the morning. I watched the sunrise, I read, etc. But I think they forgot me.

I went downstairs about 8:30, because they had said guests were checking out at 7:00. Sure enough, there was an available room. I went into it and immediately bathed. My face was oily and dirty; I think it was due to the people who had slept on the bus previously with greasy hair, since there were no sheets. Anyway, it felt good to get clean.

Udaipur is known as the white city. From the rooftop of our guest house, I saw the Lake Palace, the City Palace, Lake Pichola, etc. All rooms have views of some of these. The city is one of the famous cities in Rajastan where most tourists to India visit. That also means it is full of salesmen who will not leave the tourists alone.

I quickly became frustrated here. It is not possible to walk in the tourist areas without everyone from the shops trying to start a meaningless conversation. They want to know where you are from, if you are married, if you have children, etc. But it always turns into a sales talk wanting you to come to their shop for art, having a suit made, etc. I hate it and hate that it is impossible to avoid a hassle even if you try to pass them. It's as bad as it was when I was in Turkey. Therefore, I found myself being in a bad mood after a while.

I did visit the City Palace. It was an unusually good bargain for a tourist site in India. Everyone pays the same price to enter. The only drawback is that there is a high fee for using a camera. Since my camera was stolen earlier, I didn't have to pay that, so I saw the palace for only $1.25 instead of the $7.50 it costs with a camera. It was an interesting palace, too, with several special rooms with tiles, with mirrors, etc.

Restaurants all over Rajastan have English menus, but the owners never know the prices when figuring the bills. They have to consult the menus. Therefore, I am sure that the prices in the English menus are higher than the ones in the Hindi menus. Just another way they love to rip off the tourists here.

I tried to find a way to leave on a night bus or night train tomorrow, but there is none due to all the family members returning to where they live after this festival weekend. I bought a ticket for the train for Monday morning. And that only gets me part of the way to Jaipur. I will have to take a bus for the last two hours of the trip. Anyway, it is fine. I have things I can do here tomorrow that will allow me to avoid the hassles of the shopkeepers.

Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008--Udaipur

I just opened my e-mail and there is bad news. The airlines have canceled my flights from Mumbai to Istanbul and from Istanbul to Tblisi. I knew the problems in Georgia could potential cause me trouble, but why did they cancel my trip to Istanbul? Someone isn't thinking. Anyway, I have another hassle. I must contact Thai Airlines. Of course, they have no office here or anywhere I will be, I don't think. (They don't fly to Mumbai.) So I will have to call them and try to deal with it over the telephone. Yuck!