On the way to Jaisalmer

We headed to Jaisalmer to relive an adventure Steve had when he came here back in his early twenties.  It's always been his desire to take our nine year old son, Owen, on a camel trek and spend the night under the desert stars. So the big day was finally approaching, one he's been looking forward to for months.

But first we have to get there.  It's a four hour drive between towns and if you stop for lunch with kids, count on five.  On the way there is nothing to see but wide open desert and scraggly shrubbery.   It was a super monotonous drive so I opened my book to read a chapter.  Occasionally I would look up from my book to see a lone goat herder or a solitary home made of sandstone and a thatched roof. Where does the thatch come from?  It's a hard life for anyone who homesteads out here. I've heard the wells have to go almost three hundred feet down for any sign of water. I'm amazed that someone can actually scratch out a living or would dare to live out here.


random sandstone hut along the road

We did have a little excitement along the way.  We passed a large truck flipped upside down. It had just happened minutes before we passed and other cars had stopped to help. No one looked hurt so our driver kept going.  How did that happen on such a boring stretch of road?  The kids talked about the scene for a while.

Occasionally we had a hard break or hard weave to the left or right to avoid hitting a meandering sheep or goat.  There were a couple times I thought the animal was a gonner the way our driver would slam on his breaks and be just inches from hitting it. I'd shake my head as the sheep would pass by completely oblivious to his perilous decision.  It wouldn't be India if there wasn't a herd of goats, sheep, or occasional cow competing for space on the road.   I thought about the dramatic scene with the truck.  Perhaps this is what happened to cause him to flip. Maybe he just fell asleep.

Out of nowhere there is sign of life; about half way between Jodphur and Jaisalmer is a type of flea market with booths lined up all along the side of the road.  We didn't stop but some tour buses did and we watched gaggles of tourists file out with cameras around their necks ready to capture on film the primative type of commerce.  This is a place where many of the villagers trade, buy and sell goods ranging from brooms and steel pots to camels.  Camels were standing like a parking lot at one end of the market ready to be sold or traded in for a newer model,  100,000 rupees for a new one, which is over two thousand U.S. dollars.  This must take villagers years to save up for. 

In another dramatic scene, we passed a dead cow lying in the sand, rib bones exposed, bloated with the sun, being pulled and tugged by a wild dog enjoying the meal of a lifetime.  It was a harsh reminder to us how tough the desert life can be.  We may be tourists who sit comfortably in our airconditioned car and sip on cool bottled water, but this is real life and someone's livelihood just turned to dog food.

*****

Rajasthan, Land of Kingdoms

Destination: Jodhpur

I loved Jodhpur.  Easy to get to, just a short 1 hour flight from Delhi and it's located right in the middle of the state of Rajasthan, on the edge of the Thar desert (bordering Pakistan).  I was really excited about seeing this region of India because it is so vastly different than the agricultural, tropical end of south India that I've grown so accustomed to. 

The first thing that struck me was how nice the weather was. Here it is at the end of February and in Bangalore it's HOT, like mid 90s (34 c). Summer is in full swing and there are a few more months of this before monsoon hits, so I was dreading the heat in Rajasthan.

We were told by friends that Rajasthan is too hot by March; The best time to go is October through February. So squeezing in a trip at the last week of February, we crossed our fingers hoping the heat would be at least tolerable. Maybe it was a bit of good luck, but I suppose because it is a desert climate the heat was dry, the sky was bright blue, and the shade was cool and refreshing.

Located in central Rajasthan, Jodhpur is a popular tourist destination with its many Jain temples, palaces, forts, and great shopping. Tourist were everywhere, so for the first time in a long time I didn't feel like I stood out, like I do in southern India. We felt very safe walking around even though we had our kids with us.  And because we came with three grade school children we decided to take a leisurely pace and focus on just two things...visiting the fort and shopping!

The city spreads out like a blue quilt beneath the ominous presence of the Mehrangarh Fort.  The beautiful shade of blue is painted on many of the walls which has given Jodhpur the nickname "Blue City".  Aside from the aesthetic beauty this supplies in contrast to the desert, this also had a practical purpose of being an insect repellent and kept their homes cooler.

The fort stands guard over the city.

impressive height with impenetrable walls

A nice view of the "Blue City" from the fort walls

 City sprawls beneath the fort walls where canons stand guard 

I soaked in all the scenery and saw many differences from south India.  The men and women are taller than south India.  There is more color in their clothing, or maybe it stands out more against the monochromatic colors of the beige desert and the sandstone buildings.  The buildings are way more interesting with their intricately carved window screens and archways.

On day two we hit the fort which is the highlight of this city and the most well done museum I've been to in India. Clean, well-maintained, decent food on site, and an impressive collection of costumes, paintings, furniture, and weapons.

Outside the many palatial rooms

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The last of the fort entrances is cleverly placed at a sharp 90 degree angle so the war elephants couldn't get up to ramming speed - notice the spikes halfway up the door right at elephant head height.

Circled marks indicate where the enemy canons hit but nothing ever penetrated the walls

One of the many palaquins used to carry around the royal women

This is a close up look at the beautiful sword handle, handcrafted and so detailed (notice the lion heads on either side) 

The swords were beautiful but it's hard to see from the pictures

One interesting side note for all the history buffs who may be reading this...  Rajasthan stayed independent, being made up of princely states until it joined the Republic of India in 1949.  Construction on this fort started in 1459 by Rao Jodha, one of 24 sons, who became the fifteenth ruler of the Rathore dynasty. He decided to move his fort to the cliffs where it now stands 400 feet above the city.  There was a small problem with this location, however.  A hermit who occupied this hill refused to give up without a fight and put a curse on the land.  To appease the gods and cleanse the land from the curse, the prince buried a man alive in the foundation.  In exchange for his life the man was promised that his family would be taken care of by the Rathores, the royal family. His descendants still live on the land given to them by King Jodha.

Giving up his life was considered a very honorable thing to do and a monument has been placed on the very spot where he was buried alive.  Sacrificing one's life was not an uncommon practice in Rajasthan.  Nearby on the fort walls are single palm prints of the royal wives who were widowed when their husband died in battle (I counted 15). The body of the husband would be placed on top of a funeral pyre for a cremation ceremony, as is typical for Hindu religion, but then the queens would silently burn alive with him, ensuring everlasting communion.
  

Touring forts is usually not my thing, but how is that not interesting?  We did a guided audio tour and even the kids were partially entertained. I'm so glad we did the audio tour.  It was well worth the extra cost because it was so informative and interesting.  Time flew, which was good since it took much of the day to see all that the museum had to offer.

Kids standing at one of the massive fort doors 

We hired an auto rickshaw driver for the day to drive us to the fort, wait, then return us to our hotel.  About 400 rupees (just under $10).  Our hotel, Taj Vivante, advised us to do this since there would be no auto rickshaws at the fort to make the return trip.  In hindsight, finding a rickshaw back to the hotel would not have been a problem.  As we left the fort to find our rickshaw we were swarmed by other drivers hoping to get a fare.  We informed them that we have a driver waiting, to which they responded confidently "But I am here only!"   

Steve and Owen hopping out of the rickshaw

The hotel we stayed at was lovely and had comfortable rooms.  There were a few downsides that applied to every place we stayed;  first, the food was good but restaurants at the hotels didn't open for dinner until 7 which was too late for the kids.  So instead, we ordered off the snack menu for dinner (less spicy options anyway); second, the pools were frigid, way too cold, even for the kids.  Imagine a glacial mountain lake, that cold!  Every hotel we stayed at had icy cold pools which was unfortunate since we were counting on that for hours of entertainment for the kids; third, there were hundreds of annoying pigeons, picture a scene from a famous Alfred Hitchcock movie.  The cooing was actually eerie as they peered down at us from window eaves and roof overhangs.  They flew in swarms and landed pool side for a drink of water.  Someone actually had the job of shooing away the pigeons with a big flag, and for some reason this was strangely entertaining. 

However, if that isn't your idea of entertainment then there is live music with a dancer, a puppet show, and a magic show every night which happened to be exactly the same at every hotel we went to; go four hours drive north to Jaisalmer and the hotel there had the same magic show and only slight variations on the puppet show. 

I loved the Rajasthani music and the dancing that the hotels provided every night.

Rajasthan is known for it's handicrafts, such as block print textiles, glass bangles (These don't transport well. Mine broke in the suitcase- doh!), hand embroidered shoes and leather bags, wool rugs, and carved furniture.

We had time to shop when we came back through Jodphur at the tail end of our trip so we just did window shopping and price comparisons, saving the big purchases for later. 

Day three was another travel day- a four hour car trip further north to Jaisalmer to accomplish the main objective.

Stay tuned...

On our way to Rajasthan

The kids slept in their clothes, got up to eat a quick breakfast and clambered into the waiting car.  We were still 15 minutes delayed leaving but I was proud of how responsible the kids were. As we pulled out of the neighborhood I anxiously glanced at the clock, 5:56 a.m.  I did some quick calculations and realized with trepidation that we were cutting ourselves short by a few minutes.  We left with exactly one hour to spare until check in time.  The government regulations require you to check-in no later than 45 minutes before your flight, no exceptions.  Our driver drove our Toyota minivan like 007 in a James Bond movie.  Thankfully there was no traffic.  His driving matched my anxiety.  I felt like we skidded to a stop at the airport and I rushed the kids out, grabbed our suitcases, and threw a quick glance and a “thanks, Raj” at our driver as we made a mad dash for the airport doors. Three kids ran behind me, I assumed, as I looked back once just to be sure.  Yep, all there.

 So many people.  There were lines everywhere.  Just to step into the building you have to present your itinerary and i.d. to the guards at the door.  Then we rushed to the check-in desk.   We underestimated how long the lines to check-in would be and my heart sank as I looked at the clock on the wall and the number of people ahead of us.  Tears welled in my eyes when I realized we wouldn’t make our flight.   Dragging three young kids that early to the airport was hard enough, but now I had to accept the fact that all that effort and rushing was useless.  My son looked up at me and asked anxiously “are we gonna catch our flight, mom?” “I don’t think so”, as I fought hard to keep tears from spilling.  Our long day of flying was going to be even longer and my husband would be in Jodhpur waiting.  Who knew if we’d even get on the next flight?  Then to my utter disbelief, I heard, “LAST CALL FOR DELHI!  ANYONE FLYING TO DELHI?”  Oh, Oh, YES!  He lifted the ropes and let us through.  My daughter looked up triumphantly at me and announced that “it’s because I prayed mom!  God answered my prayers.”  Then in utter relief, the kind that only a mom travelling alone with three kids would understand, the tears started to roll down my cheeks.  Big fat crocodiles tears.

We had a 2 ½ hour flight to Delhi, 4 hour delay, then a one hour flight to Jodhpur.   We made it and how wonderful it was to see that handsome face waiting for us at the other side of the glass doors.  My husband hugged me after almost a week apart.