No Chapati, No Chai; No Woman, No Cry
April 11, 12 & 13 - Jaisalmer, days 10, 11 & 12
Something happened to me on my last day in Jaipur, something that has changed my outlook and subsequently my whole experience of India so far. What was it? I slowed down. Without even realising it, I developed a whole new mindset and found myself walking - and thinking! - obnoxiously slowly, my feet dragging my body along, flip-flops first, barely batting an eyelid at any of the rickshaw wallahs or anything else random in the hustle and bustle around me. I'm now taking everything at Indian Pace and, you know what? It's sooo much better this way! This is what I came for. As cliched as this will sound, I've felt myself becoming increasingly dislodged over the past few months and I needed to get away from everything to take a step back and regain sight of myself. I realise now that it needn't even have been India, it could have been anywhere; I needed somewhere that would jerk me right out of my comfort zone and shock the hell out of the numbness that has cast over me of late. Now that I am here though, I'm more than happy with my choice - India is certainly doing the job! It has shocked, awed, humbled and amazed me in many ways over only two weeks. I referred to this Indian Pace as a new mindset for me but, in sincerity, it is a reawakening of a side of me that has been a little lost, a side that I think got partially left behind in Taiwan (and so there it lives on!), and that quite simply does not have room to breathe in England. (This, incidentally, is the same side of me that always cringes when admitting that back at home, I now hold down a 9-5 office job. Shudder!) That's not to say that I'm unhappy in the life I am building there, but a fire needs three elements to burn - without this side of myself, my fire was burning out. Suddenly a month here doesn't seem like long enough...
Philosphy for the day over though - let me tell you a bit about Jaisalmer, and why I loved it so much there. I arrived at the station of this far flung desert town in the early afternoon, stepping quite contentedly off of the train and absorbing the heat under the belief, according to my guide book, that hotel touts and rickshaw wallahs were not permitted inside the station area, thus allowing me plenty of time to find my way into town by finding a rickshaw on the street to get to the hotel I had picked out. What the guide book didn't tell me was that this was actually a load of b***s***, and that the police are quite happy to accept bribes from any touts wanting to get near the station. On a couple of points in my trip so far I have felt like a minor celebrity, being snapped at sneakily in public, being stared at incessantly and even being asked for my autograph (seriously), but these instances were nothing compared with this. I looked out from the station front at a sea of male Indian faces, all hungry for my money, and within seconds of stepping out had been ambushed by at least six of them - beyond them there were more, but I couldn't see - all shouting hotel names at me and vying for my attention. Some were grabbing my arms and some even tried to grab my bags so that I would have to go with them - this really pissed me off, so I beat my way back out of the huddle and into the safety of the station to work out what to do next. There was no way I was going to be able to get past them to find a rickshaw myself, and the town was a 2km walk, factoring in the heat and my luggage. Of course, by going back into the station I had trapped myself and, sure enough, when I turned back around they were all waiting for me like a pack of starved dogs. I followed my instincts, took a deep breath and plunged back in, barging through them towards the first white faces I could see, and ended up jumping into a jeep with Tim and Roberta, PhD Economics students from Belgium and Italy. They were headed towards a hotel from their guide book and were happy for me to join and, even though once we got there I didn't especially like the hotel, it was at least clean and I was just releived to be away from the station!
You're probably wondering why I started by saying how much I loved Jaisalmer! Well, once I got into the town it was a completely different story. The town centres on an ancient fort which rises out of it on a hilltop in sandstone, which is actually still lived in, and wandering around and getting lost in its maze of winding lanes of shops and cafes was a pleasure. Everything was golden, and the sun shining through onto the walls with brightly coloured Rajasthani handicrafts draped across them was just gorgeous. What really made this place though, were its people. High season has passed now, so with less tourists passing through many of the shop owners had more time on their hands than usual and they were so relaxed! Their attitude was almost the reverse of some of the people I have so far come across, and it was the first place I have visited where I didn;t feel that people were only interested in my money. Of course, some of them would ask if I wanted to look in their shops, but if I didn't, or if I didn't buy anything, they didn't mind in the least and were genuinely happy to just chat. Quite a few people offered me cups of chai as I was going around, and I took a couple of them up on it, including the locally famed Mr Desert (I'm sure he's googleable), and a random hotel owner, who booked me a hotel in Udaipur even though I wasn't staying with him. It was the kind of place where the only way of telling the time was by the position of the sun in the sky; no one was in any hurry.
Afetr a relaxing afternoon and a good night's sleep, I rose early for my camel safari on the edges of the Thar desert. What an experience! My camel was named Julian, and I was super nice to him seeing as he was to be my nearest and dearest for the next day and a half. I don't think it mattered though, as he (and all of the other camels!) was so incredibly chilled and didn't seem to mind who or what he was carrying on his back! So long as he had a stalk of something or other to chew on, he was happy. He thrust me up ten feet into the air (giving me a shock!) and we were off. This was the perfect way to complement my new-found attitude; lapping up the sun and being carried around with nothing but the sound of camel bells and goats in the background. After visiting some local villages we stopped for lunch, cooked outdoors by our guides and eaten by hand, and I couldn't resist a little siesta under a tree - although I did get rudely awakened by a brief sandstorm. We spent the afternoon on the camels again and quickened up the pace from the morning - it was fun, but ouch! We ended the day on a stretch of untouched sand dunes, where we watched the sun set, had dinner and set up camp for the night. Our guides got a campfire going and sang some hindi folk songs for us, and they even tried a couple of Beatles songs! We lay down to go to sleep under the stars, the sheer amount and clearness of them equalling only one other night of my life, when Steven and I were camping in the country. When the full moon rose, I was astonished by how much it lit up the sky, and actually sleeping right under it was unforgettable.
We were up for sunrise the next morning with a cup of chai, and after nreakfast got straight on our way. My thighs protested slightly at the prospect of three more hours on the camel (the contents of my stomach also thereatened!), but there was no choice. It wasn't too bad once we got going, and I will absolutely remember the fun more than the pain - it was well worth the trip. We gave soncere thanks to our guide, shared some lassis with him and parted ways. I spent my afternoon in Jaisalmer (after hijacking Tim and Roberta's room for what felt like the best shower ever seeing as I was to become a nomad for another day) again just idly exploring, this time going further afield into the market outside the fort where I sampled some delicious Indian sweets (oh so sweet), soaking it all up before a final dinner with my desert family, and then off to the station feeling a little sad to leave.
Next stop, Jodhpur.
Something happened to me on my last day in Jaipur, something that has changed my outlook and subsequently my whole experience of India so far. What was it? I slowed down. Without even realising it, I developed a whole new mindset and found myself walking - and thinking! - obnoxiously slowly, my feet dragging my body along, flip-flops first, barely batting an eyelid at any of the rickshaw wallahs or anything else random in the hustle and bustle around me. I'm now taking everything at Indian Pace and, you know what? It's sooo much better this way! This is what I came for. As cliched as this will sound, I've felt myself becoming increasingly dislodged over the past few months and I needed to get away from everything to take a step back and regain sight of myself. I realise now that it needn't even have been India, it could have been anywhere; I needed somewhere that would jerk me right out of my comfort zone and shock the hell out of the numbness that has cast over me of late. Now that I am here though, I'm more than happy with my choice - India is certainly doing the job! It has shocked, awed, humbled and amazed me in many ways over only two weeks. I referred to this Indian Pace as a new mindset for me but, in sincerity, it is a reawakening of a side of me that has been a little lost, a side that I think got partially left behind in Taiwan (and so there it lives on!), and that quite simply does not have room to breathe in England. (This, incidentally, is the same side of me that always cringes when admitting that back at home, I now hold down a 9-5 office job. Shudder!) That's not to say that I'm unhappy in the life I am building there, but a fire needs three elements to burn - without this side of myself, my fire was burning out. Suddenly a month here doesn't seem like long enough...
Philosphy for the day over though - let me tell you a bit about Jaisalmer, and why I loved it so much there. I arrived at the station of this far flung desert town in the early afternoon, stepping quite contentedly off of the train and absorbing the heat under the belief, according to my guide book, that hotel touts and rickshaw wallahs were not permitted inside the station area, thus allowing me plenty of time to find my way into town by finding a rickshaw on the street to get to the hotel I had picked out. What the guide book didn't tell me was that this was actually a load of b***s***, and that the police are quite happy to accept bribes from any touts wanting to get near the station. On a couple of points in my trip so far I have felt like a minor celebrity, being snapped at sneakily in public, being stared at incessantly and even being asked for my autograph (seriously), but these instances were nothing compared with this. I looked out from the station front at a sea of male Indian faces, all hungry for my money, and within seconds of stepping out had been ambushed by at least six of them - beyond them there were more, but I couldn't see - all shouting hotel names at me and vying for my attention. Some were grabbing my arms and some even tried to grab my bags so that I would have to go with them - this really pissed me off, so I beat my way back out of the huddle and into the safety of the station to work out what to do next. There was no way I was going to be able to get past them to find a rickshaw myself, and the town was a 2km walk, factoring in the heat and my luggage. Of course, by going back into the station I had trapped myself and, sure enough, when I turned back around they were all waiting for me like a pack of starved dogs. I followed my instincts, took a deep breath and plunged back in, barging through them towards the first white faces I could see, and ended up jumping into a jeep with Tim and Roberta, PhD Economics students from Belgium and Italy. They were headed towards a hotel from their guide book and were happy for me to join and, even though once we got there I didn't especially like the hotel, it was at least clean and I was just releived to be away from the station!
You're probably wondering why I started by saying how much I loved Jaisalmer! Well, once I got into the town it was a completely different story. The town centres on an ancient fort which rises out of it on a hilltop in sandstone, which is actually still lived in, and wandering around and getting lost in its maze of winding lanes of shops and cafes was a pleasure. Everything was golden, and the sun shining through onto the walls with brightly coloured Rajasthani handicrafts draped across them was just gorgeous. What really made this place though, were its people. High season has passed now, so with less tourists passing through many of the shop owners had more time on their hands than usual and they were so relaxed! Their attitude was almost the reverse of some of the people I have so far come across, and it was the first place I have visited where I didn;t feel that people were only interested in my money. Of course, some of them would ask if I wanted to look in their shops, but if I didn't, or if I didn't buy anything, they didn't mind in the least and were genuinely happy to just chat. Quite a few people offered me cups of chai as I was going around, and I took a couple of them up on it, including the locally famed Mr Desert (I'm sure he's googleable), and a random hotel owner, who booked me a hotel in Udaipur even though I wasn't staying with him. It was the kind of place where the only way of telling the time was by the position of the sun in the sky; no one was in any hurry.
Afetr a relaxing afternoon and a good night's sleep, I rose early for my camel safari on the edges of the Thar desert. What an experience! My camel was named Julian, and I was super nice to him seeing as he was to be my nearest and dearest for the next day and a half. I don't think it mattered though, as he (and all of the other camels!) was so incredibly chilled and didn't seem to mind who or what he was carrying on his back! So long as he had a stalk of something or other to chew on, he was happy. He thrust me up ten feet into the air (giving me a shock!) and we were off. This was the perfect way to complement my new-found attitude; lapping up the sun and being carried around with nothing but the sound of camel bells and goats in the background. After visiting some local villages we stopped for lunch, cooked outdoors by our guides and eaten by hand, and I couldn't resist a little siesta under a tree - although I did get rudely awakened by a brief sandstorm. We spent the afternoon on the camels again and quickened up the pace from the morning - it was fun, but ouch! We ended the day on a stretch of untouched sand dunes, where we watched the sun set, had dinner and set up camp for the night. Our guides got a campfire going and sang some hindi folk songs for us, and they even tried a couple of Beatles songs! We lay down to go to sleep under the stars, the sheer amount and clearness of them equalling only one other night of my life, when Steven and I were camping in the country. When the full moon rose, I was astonished by how much it lit up the sky, and actually sleeping right under it was unforgettable.
We were up for sunrise the next morning with a cup of chai, and after nreakfast got straight on our way. My thighs protested slightly at the prospect of three more hours on the camel (the contents of my stomach also thereatened!), but there was no choice. It wasn't too bad once we got going, and I will absolutely remember the fun more than the pain - it was well worth the trip. We gave soncere thanks to our guide, shared some lassis with him and parted ways. I spent my afternoon in Jaisalmer (after hijacking Tim and Roberta's room for what felt like the best shower ever seeing as I was to become a nomad for another day) again just idly exploring, this time going further afield into the market outside the fort where I sampled some delicious Indian sweets (oh so sweet), soaking it all up before a final dinner with my desert family, and then off to the station feeling a little sad to leave.
Next stop, Jodhpur.