On the Rooftop Under the Stars

Written: January 24, 2009

I'm not riding a camel for a long time. After a 2 day camel safari, I believe my chances of having children has just gone down significantly.

Jaisalmer, what a place. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I like this desert city so much. The town is known for it's beautifully detailed havelis (old homes), the ornate temples and structures within the living fort and camel safaris. Jaisalmer did not disappoint me on all three counts and I've quite enjoyed the city and its people.

I arrived from Jodhpur at 4:45 am. Amazingly enough, we had left 20 minutes late from the Jodhpur Terminus and arrived 20 minutes early into Jaisalmer. When the lights came up, I checked my watch and figured we were early and could not believe we arrived into Jaisalmer. However, upon looking at the station sign outside I realized we had indeed arrived early which is a miracle for Indian rail. Arriving at such an early hour also meant that touts would be waiting and these were usually from the sleaziest and most desperate hotels. I reluctantly took a ride from one which promised 100 Rs, double bed room within the fort. Of course, this was a lie, it was located well outside the fort and nearly 2 km from the walls. I walked out and hailed a rickshaw, haggled and got a ride to Hotel Rennuka. Since all the beds were taken until 7:30 am when some people would go off on safari, I slept on the roof for 3 glorious hours and watched the stars under the clear night skies. I missed that experience and it reminded me of being huddled close to the fire and watching the even more brilliant night sky in Ngorongoro.

The first day I spent walking around getting a feel of the city. I quickly learned to look out for cows and the many mounds of cow crap left behind. I enjoyed the sandy coloured buildings and finally carved decorations of the havelis. The fort area was also really nice although much of it was oriented for tourism rather than everyday life. Of course, with tourism being such a big part of the local economy, he usual enticements and tricks could be seen. Walking down the main street, many shopkeepers try to sell you books, water, toilet paper, clothes, camel leather goods, etc. Hotel runners, safari operators, money changers all asking you to come in.

In the 2-3 days in town walking around, I can usually hear phrases such as:
"My friend, water, juice, toilet paper, gum?"
"Korea? Japan? China? ..."
"Hello handsome!"
"Internet? Camel safari?"

After a while, all those advertisements fade into the background.

On the second day, I managed to get a well needed haircut and refreshing shave for 30 Rs ($0.75). I also finally found a DC 5V charger for my media player. I must've visited over 20 shops in Mumbai, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer and finally found one that has the proper connector. I then met-up with Josh, an old University friend of mine, and we booked a camel safari with Hotel Renuka. He went for the 2.5 day safari while I went for 1.5 day. It's funny how small the world, we didn't even know each other was travelling in India until I saw his Facebook status which indicated he was in Jaipur while I was in Jodhpur. I messaged him to see if he was headed to Jaisalmer like I was and 2 days later we're having a beer on a rooftop overlooking the fort and going on a camel safari together.

The night before we left, I met up with Josh and a new friend named Menko. We had dinner and discussions together along with a hotel host. Since there was a blackout, I had to borrow a light in order to get back to my hotel at the other end of the city. However, thanks to Menko's initiative to ask and the host's generosity, I got a ride back to my hotel. What was even better was that he asked if I knew how to ride a motorcycle, I said yes and he shiftefd back and told me drive! I rode a 150cc Honda Hero motorcycle for about 10 minutes to get back. This was also the first time I rode 2-up (i.e. with a passenger) but it didn't matter much since we never went very fast and the bike had a small displacement. However, it did give me confidence to take on one of the many women who've requested a ride with me when I get back in Canada. I am extremely thankful for the generosity of the hotel host since walking back during the blackout late at night may not be the safest idea.

On my third day in Jaisalmer, Josh and I took off for our camel safari. We visited the Jaisalmer Royal Cenotaph and then drove 45 minutes to meet the camels and guides. I called mine Chamomile and spoke to her before I got on. Each of us then got on our camels and off we went for 1 hour before stopping at the site of ruins and another hour before stopping for lunch. By that point, we could all feel the full effects of camel riding on our body. The bruising and chafing on the inner thighs, the awkward stretching of the pelvis. The pain was amplified if the camel was going downhill. By the end of the day after reaching the sand dunes, we had done f hours of riding and we were all glad for the break! Quite a few of us were glad we had opted for 1.5 day and not much longer. We arrived at the sand dunes and our camp at 4:45 pm. We spent about 1.5 hours taking it in, enjoying the views and getting some pictures of the dunes and sunset. After dinner, we talked about literature, exchanged ideas and travel stories. Russ and I actually stayed up late while everyone had gone to bed to exchange our travel experiences.

Two of the funniest stories I heard from Russ, a musician from L.A. who was travelling India and Europe for a year, were:

1. A traveller asked a local Indian man where was the nearest toilet. The local stretched out his arm and moved it around to indicate the land and said, "In India, the toilet is everywhere."

2. A tourist sees an Indian man peeing on the side of the street and asks him, "Hey, isn't the police going to hold you for this?" The Indian man responds, "No, you have to hold it yourself."

We slept in the open but could only see the stars every now and then when the clouds cleared. After another 2 hours of camel riding in the morning, we took a jeep ride and returned to Jaisalmer to wash up and rest. Tomorrow I take off for Agra via Jaipur and then Varanasi. I have been having a hard time finding train tickets between Agra and Varanasi though but hopefully something will be worked out soon!

That's all for now, Namaste!