Jaisalmer was such a nice place to chill out for a couple of days. On my first morning, while walking round the shops and stalls that make up the insides of the Fort, I met a Brahmin guy called Deepak. He explained how he owns a shop called "Bellissima", where you can buy handicrafts, materials, bags etc. that are all made my women in crisis and poverty, and with all the items being at a fixed price, the money goes back to the women making the goods.
He was a really interesting guy, so I went into the shop and we talked some more; about Ashrams, languages, traveling etc., so much so that I spent most of the day with him! He later took me to his new restaurant, the "Pink Floyd", and yes, as soon as we got up to the rooftop terrace, "Dark Side of The Moon" was playing out of the CD player! Ha. We chatted and drank Chai, and he even took me on his motorbike. I spent a few hours there alone, reading, and later returned that night for some food. During the evening I met another guy, Antonio, from America. We spent the night on the roof together chatting.
The following day, at 2pm, I set off for my Camel Safari. It was a bit of a shaky start, with the Indian driver being pretty aggressive (serious communication breakdown!) but it all worked out well in the end, as I shared the 40km Jeep ride into the Desert with Alan, a Canadian originally from Belfast (very interesting accent!) and Sol, lovely Sol, a beautiful Argentinian woman, who has since become my close buddy here in India! The safari was definitely an experience! You are driven into the desert, near the border with Pakistan, plopped on Camels without much communication, marched out into the desert with 10 year old boys leading you and your Camel, and left in the dunes until sunset (we must have been there 2, 2 and a half hours). The view from the desert was beautiful one side: sun, sand, dunes; but from the other, looking back the way you came, there was hundreds of tourist coaches parked up and a bustle of tourists around you. Certainly not the image of the Desert I had in mind! Still, the setting and the company was good. When our Camels finally returned back for us, there was a shortage - so me and Sol had to share. This was a painful experience. I was on the back of the Camel, with nothing much to hold on to. And if you can imagine the pace of a Camel who is being hurried home at dusk, being spurred on my a small running child, and with my rucksack constantly bouncing off my back, jabbing into me with every stride, whilst my crotch was banging against his hump, then I hope you can begin to understand how uncomfortable this journey back was! However, in situations like that, you have to laugh. Right?
The rest of my time in Jaisalmer was spent hanging out with Sol and Antonio, and most of that time was in the "Pink Floyd".
After a nice few days, my luck changed when getting to Jodphur. For starters, someone from the hotel I was staying at was meant to come and collect me from the train station, an important factor as my train got in at 5.20am. Not a nice time to be a female traveler in India. Luckily, Antonio was taking the same train ride, and his connecting train wasn't until 9.30am, so he stayed with me to make sure all was okay. Which it was NOT. After realising I had no driver, we flagged a Rickshaw. Giving the driver the name of the hotel, we drove for a while through the darkness and labyrinths of the city, and arrived... at the wrong hotel. This was hotel Halevi, we were told, not Hotel KP Haveli. Urgghhh! So, we clambered back in and after 5 more minutes arrived at the right hotel. Except, for one thing. I couldn't check in until 10am. And it was a little before 6am. Even more great. After receiving copious abuse from the night porter, and after a rowing match and hurling of words (not by me, however), we were sent upstairs to what must have been the family lounge, where we were ever-so-kindly allowed to wait. Sleeping on a sofa, after hours of uncomfortable and cramped travel, anyone? After a few hours we were back downstairs trying to get me checked in, only to find, after the Manager arrived and seemed very confused, that I was not given a booking at this hotel, but in fact I was booked in for the following night (when I would be leaving Jodphur that morning). This was getting ridiculous. And to make matters worse, the whole saga had been going on so long that Antonio's train was now due to leave within the half hour. So, I managed to get the Manager to hail and pay for a Rickshaw to drop Antonio at the station, and me at the hotel I was now supposed to be staying at (after several tense phone calls), and so I lsaid goodbye to Antonio and started out all over again.
One thing I have forgotten to mention is that my dear freind Sol left for Jodphur the previous afternoon, whilst I was getting the night train. She does not have a phone in India, however, after asking Deepak where we could try and meet up in Jodphur whilst still in Jaisalmer, he told us the Clock Tower. And neither of us knew where this was, but we were calmly informed that every driver in town would know. So, with that, we had arranged to meet at the Clock Tower (!) at 10.30am. And it was now nearly 9.45am and I hadn't slept, nor had I checked into my hotel. So I arrived at the next hotel, and guess what? "Sorry ma'am, your not staying here either, there's no room. We will drive you round to the guest house where you will be staying, just wait here 10 minutes". ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? This was becoming an actual living nightmare, I was tired, hungry, weak, and did not like the look of this city in which I was being carting around!
So, with the clock ticking as to my rendezvous with Sol, and no way of contacting her, I was getting pretty anxious by the time I was back in the car and being taken to the next place. But, and you will never believe this, as we were turning off the road and into the drive, a woman carrying all her belongings and looking extremely flustered and rushed was hurrying out of the drive way. Sol!! After laughing so hard about the fact that we should end up meeting like this, I soon learned she also had a nightmare of a journey. We ate breakfast (which we made sure was complimentary!) and swapped stories. Hers consisted of also being left alone in the night at the train station, but having luckily befriended two Indians on the train, she was with others. However, there was shouting in the streets and yelling (not Sol, I might add) and she also had been carted from hotel to hotel even though, like me, she too had made her reservation through a Travel Agent in Delhi.
The moral of this story? Don't travel during the 20 days after Diwali: It's a public holiday and hundreds upon thousands of Indian families are holidaying all over the country, and they, of course, have priority over every, single, room in India, reservation or no reservation.
Our remaining day is Jodphur was far from great, it was too hot, it was too dirty and overcrowded, and we were both extremely exhausted. The highlight of the day was our palm reading session with the Lonely Planet recommended Mr. Sharma, but that was about it. I was glad to be moving on the next day.
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