Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Camels

Eager to press on and see what else Rajasthan had to offer we visited Jodhpur, aka the blue city, because of the colour of its old town houses. Once bitten, twice shy, our expectations were low as we had been previously unimpressed by the amount of pink at the ‘pink city’ (Jaipur). It turns out this was a good thing as we weren’t disappointed as there wasn’t that much blue! Perhaps it was our view, and maybe you need a higher vantage point to get the full effect... here is someone elses photo.

Jodhpurs main attraction is the mighty Mehrangarh Fort. Suffering from a fort overload we didn’t venture inside but it looked impregnable from our guest house.


We didn’t stay long in Jodhpur as the wide open spaces of the nearby desert were calling, so we set sail for the outpost of Jaisalmer. On the way we passed through mostly barren waste land which probably explains why the Indian government has tested nuclear weapons in the area, it’s also very close to Pakistan... Being close to India’s misunderstood brother means that the pride of the Indian Air Force conduct regular fly-overs. It wouldn’t surprise us if India has installed horns in their jets, such is the Indian love for this device.

Jaisalmer is made up of winding narrow streets. The town is small so it’s easy to get around and hard to get lost which is great for exploring. Once again the pride of the town is its fort, which looks especially cool at night time.


It was finally time to escape the mass of humanity which is India and go somewhere quiet where we could sit and think - the Thar Desert. We signed on for a “non touristic” camel safari that surprisingly came with very “touristic” turbans. After driving out of town we were promptly introduced to our new best friends for the next two days: John (Clint), Desert Boy (Kerry) and ATM (Dan).

Camels are great fun, if you haven’t ridden them before you should definitely try it. Getting them to stand up is cool as they unfold themselves and it’s sure to catch you off guard the first time. Camels are tall brutes and afford you a great view of what’s going on.

We wish we could say that we broke camp and headed to the most remote corner of India. Instead we spent the first 30 minutes following the highway while the guides used their cell phones – even the camel sherpa guys have busy social lives these days!

Things got better when we turned west and headed further into the desert. After passing a village containing children that wanted 40 rupees per photo we entered the desert proper.


After mastering the basics it was time to pick up the pace. The guides encouraged this by hurling encouragement/abuse at the camels and giving them a bit of a whipping with sticks. This did the trick and before we knew it we were amongst some great sand dunes and at our camp for the night.

Seeing the sand dunes up close gave us a burst of energy. We spent the next hour running and jumping about the place frolicking in the sand. It was just like being at the beach and we had to keep reminding ourselves we couldn’t go swimming afterwards!


Being away from the cities and the pollution meant we got to watch a superb sunset and had a magnificent view of the stars later that night. Below is a photo of the first three stars to emerge that night.


After a night under the stars it was time to get back into it. We were a bit sore from riding the day before, no stirrups means that you flop about ungainly and you have to keep your wits to keep yourself intact.

We were picked up in the afternoon and taken back into town. It was an assault to the senses to be back amongst the horn honking and crowded streets of Jaisalmer – welcome back to India. On the upside a warm bed and hot shower were just what the doctor ordered.

Random Fact: the economies of scale are amazing over here. 1.2 billion Indians means that cell phone coverage is literally everywhere and you can send a txt for as little as $0.004 NZD while calls aren’t much more - $0.04 NZD per minute... remind us again which country is third world?

Highlights:
- Hearing an explanation of how our main guide learnt English as a boy. Being illiterate and with no previous exposure to foreigners it meant he learnt one word at a time, often with hilarious results which left us in stitches
- The first five minutes of riding a running camel. It’s an enormous novelty as you balance precariously and watch the others trying to do the same
- Sipping a semi cold beer in the desert after running up a storm in the sand dunes

Lessons Learned:
- If a male camel froths at the mouth and makes disturbingly primal noises then it’s probably winter, the camel season of love
- When you’re in the desert with men whose primary interest is camels you quickly learn a lot about them. The cheapest price you can buy a camel for is 15,000 rupees - $600 NZD. If you buy during winter (tourist season) you’ll have to shell out almost double - 25,000.
- The men of the desert are very poor. They allege to see precious little of the money that we shell out in town for the trip. It’s actually quite sad that most of the guides, who are grown men, can’t afford their own camel
- Some people are brave (is that the right word?) enough to try and setup farms in the desert. Of all the crops they could pick from they chose watermelon and cucumber. To top it off it hasn’t rained for three years!
- Two days and one night on a camel is enough. Anymore and you’re just asking for trouble

Ranthambore and Udaipur

The trio waved goodbye to Pushkar and set off on what would become our craziest day of travel. Our destination Sawai Madhopur, some 300km's away and home to the Ranthambore National Park and most importantly tigers!

Five local buses, two rickshaws and a donkey ride later we had arrived. For those unfamiliar with a local bus they're amazing. Anything goes. You can spit and throw rubbish on the floor to your hearts content. We didn't spy any other tourists but made friends with plenty of the locals.

The next afternoon we set off to see the national park. There are two ways, by jeep or canter (a modified truck which seats about 30 people). We opted for the canter.


Entering the park is like Kiplings Jungle Book meets Jurassic Park. Large stone gateway entrances lead onto sloping plains covered in jungle and scrub. Tourists in safari gear (probably purchased especially for this occasion) with ridiculously over-sized cameras crane their necks at the slightest movement and hang off every word from the tour guide.

You have a 25% chance of seeing a tiger and they only come out at dusk (or dawn) so the first two hours is spent looking at deer, crocodiles and plenty of birds, some of which had obviously seen humans before.


With our time running out and the closest sighting of a tiger being some old foot prints, the driver turned and headed for home. We were only slightly disappointed because the other animals and the whole safari experience was very cool. As we were passing through the exit gates another canter was parked up, a sure sign that there's something worth seeing.

Giving the popular piece of jungle our full attention we were rewarded by hearing a roar and seeing a flash of tiger. By now more canters had arrived on the seen but our driver had managed to weasel his way into the best vantage point. To our delight a tiger strolled between bushes and paused in the open for a good couple of minutes. Creating an instant photographic frenzy and cries of "look a tiger!" (really? is that really a tiger? are you sure? and they don't like noise so we should be quiet?). His mate came along behind him so not only did we see a tiger but we saw two!


With our mission completed in one attempt we were rather pleased with ourselves. We decided to haul west across Rajasthan. After arriving by train in Kota a local recommended that we visit the town park which we did. The Chambal river runs next to the park and we basked in the glory of the massive power plants on the other side - nature at it's best.


A local art competition was underway and two girls approached to show us some of the pieces on display. We found ourselves in a ridiculous situation - swamped by Indian paparazzi and being quizzed on where we come from, our names, what we think of India etc etc we were interrogated for a good 30 minutes. If we had of bought a paper the next day we are confident we'd be on the front page.

Kota doesn't get a favourable review in our guide book and it isn't a mainstream tourist destination. The young locals we met weren't too chuffed on the place either, referring to it as "the city of thieves". Coming from locals, we can only imagine what it's like for tourists!

It was a good thing that we'd organised an overnight bus to take us to the brightlights of Udaipur. Unfortunately the bus turned out to be a local bus which meant the three of us sat shoulder to shoulder on a bench seat and tried our best to get some sleep.

After a restless night we arrived in Udaipur at dawn. Have you ever seen James Bonds Octopussy? It was filmed in Udaipur and each night the hotels play the movie on their rooftops.


Udaipur is everything India should be. The streets are clean and people let you walk around without hassling you. We even saw a dog on a leash!

Whilst out taking in the sights we joined some locals for a spot of cricket. Photo below shows K. McCallum coming around the wicket to D. Rowling. Of course there is huge controversery around the outcome of this delivery, but the massive red cherry on the bat would imply that D. Rowling is in the affirmative.


We also took in a cooking class and helped make four dishes. The end result was a fabulous meal, the stand out dishes being the malai kofta and the yoghurt lassi. We wanted to cook the dishes ourselves sometime in the future so we took unbelievably thorough notes. If you want to try your hand click here.

Random Fact: Udaipur has a magnificent lake. Unfortunately thanks to three years of drought the lake is only half full, or is that half empty?

Highlights:
- Correcting the locals bowling actions to ensure they don't chuck the ball. This is a never ending task, but don't worry we're setting things straight (magic pun!) one young Indian at a time.
- Seeing tigers in the wild. Magnificent animals made even better in their natural habitat
- Rooftops. With quality land space at a premium the Indian backyard is the rooftop. Great for relaxing, unwinding and temporarily escaping India

Lessons Learned:
- Women cook at home (and at cooking classes), men cook at restaurants
- An injured mouse can survive a fall from a second floor window. The husband at the cooking class unwittingly demonstrated this as he literally sent the vermin flying
- Convicts are transported on local buses, albeit in shackles and under armed guard. One such passenger joined us on our overnight bus trip

Agra, Jaipur and Pushkar

After several days in Delhi our batteries were flat. We had high expectations that our rendezvous with compatriot, Kerry McCallum would lead to better things.

Things didn’t start well with Kerry showing up a day late. We’d gone to the airport to meet him and spent three hours at the terminal looking for him, to no avail. After checking with the incredibly helpful (note strong sarcasm) Thai Airways staff we were informed that Dan is an idiot and that we were a day early.

After that experience it was decided that Kerry should come to us, and come to us he did, catching us at our worst as we were both enduring the infamous Delhi belly. After not enough sleep and several rehydration sachets we set off for Agra at the crack of dawn.

The next morning we went to see Agra’s main draw card – the Taj Mahal. Being eager beavers and romantics at heart we were up early to see the Taj at sunrise. The Taj met and surpassed our expectations. Angkor Wat is more impressive in scale and grandeur but pales in comparison to the refined elegance of the Taj.

Next stop was Lal Qila aka Agra Fort. We were expecting big things as a friend from NZ had raved about the place. The fort was good and we spent a quiet afternoon wondering around taking in the sites.

India is divided into 28 states. After much deliberation we put it to the vote and decided to explore Rajasthan (three people means we can now vote on things…). The big pro for Rajasthan is that it’s popular with the tourists so we can get our Indian legs and experience a wealth of variety in a relatively compact area.

First stop in Rajasthan was Jaipur – or the ‘pink city’ as it’s known. Like most cities in India it is famous for its forts and palaces. We arrived in the late afternoon and set off to see the Monkey Temple. Situated on the hills just outside of the city it is the perfect place to watch the sunset. We bought some peanuts and trekked up to the temple at the top of the hill. The posse of monkey’s that followed us was ever increasing and only the temple provided refuge.

The next morning we hightailed it to the holy city of Pushkar. Being a holy city there’s not suppose to be any meat, alcohol or drugs. A quick walk around the bazaar saw us being offered numerous drugs and plenty of alcohol but unfortunately we couldn’t complete the trifector with no one offering meat!

Everybody that visits Pushkar mentions how beautiful the lake is so we went down to see it. Locals were on us in a flash giving us flowers. They then separated us and performed individual karma ceremonies to benefit us and our loved ones. Unfortunately the amount of benefit on offer was proportional to the amount of money we were prepared to part with. A small donation later and we were sporting bracelets – or Pushkar passports. Next time we went to the lake the locals came at us again but we quickly flashed our passports and sent them packing. The photo below is of Kerry earning some good karma.

The best thing we did in Pushkar was climb the hill to the temple to watch the sunset. Dan and Clint helped the locals out with a load they were carrying. We thought it might contain beer and that we might get free ones... but it was actually something for the temple - heavy as well!

Random Fact: Shah Jahan built the Taj as a tomb for his wife. Popular legend has it that Shah Jahan spent his last years steering whimsically at the Taj before dying of grief. Reality begs to differ as he bit the bullet (at 74) after a massive overdose of opium and aphrodisiacs.

Highlights:

- Watching people take photo’s at the Taj. There are about 3 key vantage points in high demand, the most popular being the 'Princess Diana' seat

- Hero Honda adverts. A motorbike is the product but these adverts focus on three things all related with looking cool. Who cares about performance stats if you look good?

- The restaurant in Pushkar that served buffet meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). All you can eat for 60 Rupees (just over $2 NZD)

Lessons Learned:

- It was disappointing to see that the Taj may not be as impressive in the future. There was no evidence that any of the hefty entrance fee is being put back into its upkeep and development. In the future pollution, weather and manmade river diversions will be even more significant threats than they currently are

- We are already getting sick of forts. Essentially they are all the same; they serve to keep enemies out and preserve the inhabitants. The Indians assure us they are all unique and that there are many different kinds; jungle, hill, moat and, desert…

- Monkeys know that tourists throw peanuts whilst locals throw rocks, this was thoroughly tested