Jaisalmer, Bikaner,
We left Jodhpur early in the morning for our trip to Jaisalmer. About an hour out of Jodhpur we stopped at Osian to visit a Hindu and Jain temple. It was located within the town, but high above the market place. Upon entry we were told by the man at the bottom of the stairs that we needed to register upon our exit. Off with the shoes. This was one of those days that I envied those tourists who brought temple socks with them. We had a long climb up the stairs. There were many side rooms off on both sides of the stairway. As we neared the top we began to be confined to crowd control gates. Since some people had been killed recently in crowd crushes near temples we could understand. At the top we were directed out of the main route to the worship of the Gods. Still there was plenty to see. We descended to a lower level and began to explore a large terrace. At one small temple, we were invited in by a woman and the priest dressing the God.
Every morning in a Hindu temple the priest comes, takes the clothes off the god, washed the god, and then dresses the god with clean clothes. It was interesting to watch. There were at least 10 to 15 small temples on this level, and again a maze of crowd control gates, awning to protect the worshipers (not here on this morning) from the strong sun. There was also a pathway to follow painted on the stone terrace. We wandered some more, and descended back down into the village (after giving our particulars to the man at the gate). I think it was some sort of tourism development survey. As always our driver was there to meet us. Nothing worse than losing your charges on a 13 day tour. The market was lively with many cattle wandering about.
Then it was off into the desert again, roughly following a lonely rail line. What was really interesting was that we were held at two rail crossing for a total of ½ hour waiting for trains (in the midst of an arid landscape). One was a local passenger train, and the other a long freight. This was the line to Jaisalmer, near the Pakistani border and near many large Indian Army and Air Force bases.
As mentioned before, the monsoon was good this year, and the desert was “green”. There were many fields being tended….it appeared to be animal feed (hay). There were many sheaves of “hay” in the fields, and many large stacks of hay being stored for the following year. We say herds of sheep, goats, and yes camels along and on the roads.
I noticed many of the camels had a strange gait, until I say that they were hobbled to prevent them from wandering off.
Five hours later we arrived in Jaisalmer (mid afternoon). The hotel, the Fifu Guest House or hotel is a strange building. In some ways built like a haveli without the large interior courtyard. Some 4 stories tall, the stone building has a central interior staircase. Registration was normal with passports being passed over. The owner was seated with several guests discussing a camel safari into the desert. The owner we discover is quite the entrepreneur.
We are escorted to our room on the 2nd floor (3rd floor north American convention) to a nice room. I note that I cannot lock the door from the inside. About an hour later, a locksmith arrives to repair the door…..talk about service. We climb the stairs to the rooftop restaurant to had tea and our favorite chili cheese toast sandwiches. Then we leave and go wandering in the town.
About 1 km from the hotel we cross a main road and enter Jaisalmer proper. We encounter a merchant who is making blankets. Signs on the wall indicate that the blankets are better than Viagra. Other signs are equally pithy, but the owner implores us not to publish them due to competitive reasons. He has an idea for one about Monica Lewinski and asks us to spell her name. We are not in a buying mood. We purchase some biscuits (cookies for our North American friends). It is then into the town bazaar proper. And there is a “German” bakery. We cannot recommend the coconut macaroons. The merchants are aggressive, but friendly. The will recognize us the following day. After about an hour of walking and in the fading sun, we return to our hotel.
The next morning, Liz has problems with the hot water in the shower (it just takes a long while to get there). We go to the rooftop for a good breakfast. What is interesting is the owner tells Liz (who had not complained publically) that hot water is not a problem. (The stone walls are thin.) We are off to our tour of yet another fort. This one is not a UNESCO site, so it is still a living village. Many vendors, a small bazaar, and many small hotels occupy the heights. We visited a small Jain temple while our guide waited outside. Upon exit we noted a sign saying only Jains could use the bathroom facilities. It seems the farther we are from New Delhi, the fewer children go to school. We took a guided tour of the bazaar and other haveli.
We purchased some tea and expressed an interest to see areas where “the professions worked”. That lead us to sections of the community were leather workers gathered, and goldsmiths and silversmiths worked. Out guide, a Brahmin, pointed out where the untouchables lived. The caste system lives on.
Later in the afternoon, we travelled out 45 km into the desert to see the sunset. We had specified to the tour company that we did not want to ride camels (they are smelly, have ticks, spit and bite). What we encountered was a mass of domestic Indian tourists. Hundreds of camels were ferrying people out on to the dunes to watch the sun set. We walked, and watched. We returned to town for a late dinner.
Bikaner
The next morning was a long drive to Bikaner, about 6 hours through the desert with few towns along the way. We arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon. At 3pm we left for our tour of the fort.
This fort was not on a bluff above the town, and had a moat (filled with crocs when attacked). It appears each generation of the Raj family extended the palace adding new rooms. Included in one room was a fighter aircraft from WWI.
Then it was off to the Camel research center. We were greeted at the gate by two camels fully decked out with decorations and riders in beautiful uniforms.
They were expecting an official delegation (it was not us). We availed ourselves of the opportunity to have camel ice cream. I can report it is an acquired taste (somewhat salty) and very yellow (mango color). We learned of breeding techniques, camel erections, and training. We saw camels coming in from the fields and finding their paddocks. Back to the entry gate in time to see three HM Ambassador sedans roar up and the official delegation arrive. The official jumped out of the car and rushed up to see the camels. Flower petals were released over his head and everybody laughed.
It was back to the hotel and art deco era building. We ordered tea and it was served in solid silver tea pots at London prices. Dinner was interesting with few patrons. We had tea delivered at 7 in the morning followed by breakfast in the main dining room. Upon check out I paid my bill. The hotel manager did not have change and had to get it from the porter (his tips). And we were off to Mandawa next.
No comments:
Post a Comment