My trip to Jaisalmer was delayed while I spent a day in bed recovering from my second relapse after the cold I had in Pakistan. Another low-grade fever with body aches. I was worried enough about it that I went and had my blood tested to make sure I didn't have something really nasty. I didn't so after mostly recovering I got on the bus Tuesday night that would take me to Jodhpur Wednesday morning. Then I would transfer to another bus that would take me to Jaisalmer.
Or so I thought.
When I got out of the bus Wednesday morning, I found myself in Jaipur, further from Jaisalmer than when I started.
Of course all I could do was laugh and wonder how I could get on the wrong bus. I think I now understand, but the details are not worth relating now. But I'll add it to my upcoming book, "1001 Ways to Get Lost without really Trying."
So I got an auto-rickshaw to a nearby hotel that would keep my bag while I toured the city waiting for my 5:30 pm bus that would deposit me in Jaisalmer some 13 hours later. The most interesting site I visited was an Observatory built in 1728. I found the math and geometry interesting and enlightening. I was profoundly impressed by the intelligence of its design. They have the world's most accurate sundial with a resolution of 2 seconds!
The bus to Jaisalmer was another with "sleeper" bunks. These are 1 or 2 wide bunks with small sliding glass doors one can crawl into and, if you're under 5' 9", stretch out completely.
The good news is that I'm only 5" 7", the bad news is that the term "sleeper" is a euphemism,
Only the most unflappable could possibly sleep on these rambling beasts as they bump and grind their way along pothole strewn Indian roads. Then there is the sea of kids talking, laughing and squealing just outside the glass doors.
And if anyone would dare to find a bit of sleep within that milieu, there is the custom of honking to quickly bring one back to semi-consciousness. Whenever a vehicle wants to pass another, there is a long series of honks that are necessary to warn the over driver of one's approach. And after, there is another ceremony that must be performed, perhaps thanking the Gods that all is well. Now I must say that the horns themselves are quite whimsical with their musical riffs, but it is still necessary that they be quite loud to perform their intended function.
still, I arrived in Jaisalmer more or less in tact and after getting a hotel room, a nap and a shower, I was ready to plan my next move.
I met Manu, the owner or at least the manager of the hotel who offered to help me arrange my camel tour. after some discussion of the many possibilities (in India everything is possible) I decided to leave later in the afternoon for an overnight trip, returning the next afternoon. I haggled just a bit on the price and we decided on 5000 Rs (about $120). this would include taxi to and from the site, with all food and cooking and my own camel. while I was willing to go with someone else, Manu was not able to work this out so I would go alone.
after determining the cost, I told Manu that I could pay in us $$ if that would be ok. so he added up the cost of the hotel room (400 Rs/$9) the safari and a few other things and converted this total into dollars (at 43 Rs per $). since I only had $100 bills, he would owe me some change which I figured would be 1390 Rs. so I gave him his dollars, he gave me my rupees and I thought we were done.
but an hour or so later he came up to me and handed me 1000 Rs, telling me a mistake had been made. when he showed me the paper on which we had made the calculations, I realized that 8-6 equals 2, not 1 (my math is usually better than that, my only defense is that I had not slept properly for 2 nights). I was a bit astonished, not only by my inability to make simple calculations, but also by Manu's honesty. I complemented him profusely on this and he just smiled and asked rhetorically what good would it be to spend the money if he could no longer consider himself an honest man. by itself, this is only (perhaps) mildly interesting. but from this small gesture on Manu's part, an important deal would later be consummated.
on the way to the safari starting point we came upon a parasailing operation. a few guys with a jeep and a parachute offered 5 minute rides for 500 Rs. a few minutes later I was hooked up in the harness and sailing 50 feet above the desert floor, looking down on a surprisingly small jeep and out on a fantastic panoramic view. the taxi driver used my video camera to try and capture the event, but I have not seen the results yet.
a few minutes later I met Ali, the young camel driver who would take me into the desert for the night. his English was surprisingly good so he was easy to talk to. Ali confided to me his dream of someday owning his own camel. I asked how much that would cost and he said 25,000 Rs (about $600). it occurred to me that it would be within my ability to grant his wish but I let the thought pass as organically as it had arisen.
We traveled to some nice dunes well before sunset and settled in. Me on my carpet with my camera ready as Ali started making chai and preparing dinner. after the hustle and bustle of several busy Indian cities, it was amazingly peaceful and quite to be in the desert. the sunset was beautiful and I hope some of the pictures I took will do it some justice.
Ali and I talked of many things including a healthy dose of religion/spirituality. as with the folks in Pakistan, talk on this subject comes quite easily and naturally to the people of India. in all cases folks agree that it is most important to lead a good life even if they remain poor.
Just before dinner and just before sunset, a friend of Ali's from a village that was surprisingly nearby came over and offered to sell me something to drink. Something COLD to drink and one of the options was a BEER! I had anticipated that I would not drink anything while I was in India prior to my retreat in Bodh Gaya but an opportunity like this may never occur again so I said, "sure!"
Sunset, dinner and beer were all great (though my stomach has had a bit of a problem with Indian food). Before the moon came up the stars came out in massive numbers. Later we each retired to our blankets to sleep on the sand. it was not quite as romantic as I would have liked as the sand is still pretty hard and it gets quite cold and windy during the evening.
Still, morning came and found me in good spirits.
Sunrise was beautiful but only revealed itself briefly between the morning clouds.
After a bit of chai, we saddled up and were back on the path again.
Between more chatting, I experimented with various methods of riding a camel. by this time I had developed an advanced case of camel-butt and found it to be of glorious relief to sit side-saddle as Ali often did (though Ali disapproved, thinking I might fall as others before me had done).
While stationary, I tried "camel-surfing" as Ali handled the photography. Unfortunately I never got the chance to try this while moving, which would have elevated it from a photo-op to a real sport.
We came upon a wonderful oasis, just like in the cartoons I used to watch. Out of nowhere, a beautiful lake with trees materialized and this is where we stopped for lunch. Mercifully, this would be the end of the journey by camel as Ali used his cell phone (that he used throughout the trip) to call for the taxi that would take me back to town.
I was joined in the taxi by Daniel and Elaine, 2 folks from Sweden who had just finished their own safari. I had to laugh as Daniel and I, sitting on opposing benches in the back, both leaned heavily to the side, each nursing our own case of camel-butt. They had been on a 2-day safari, and I could only guess at how much worse their case was than my own.
When I got back to the hotel, there was only one thing left for me to do before heading back to Udaipur.
I bought a camel.
With Manu's administrative help, I loaned Ali the $600 it would take for him to buy his camel. He will do his best to pay this interest-free loan back over the next 3-5 years. Manu will keep the money in a bank and if it gets paid back we'll find someone else who needs a camel and make them the same offer.
It seemed like the least I could do.
No comments:
Post a Comment