Day 5 - Jaisalmer and Khuri Desert Trip

The day started with a nice hot Indian breakfast (I so prefer that over continental) in the cold and windy rooftop restaurant.

After breakfast we met up with a local guide, who would show us around Jaisalmer that morning.

Bhagwan had lived and studied in France and Australia, so his English was really good.

Streets of Jaisalmer with the fort in the background

We walked the streets of Jaisalmer and its sandstone buildings. Jaisalmer is also called the golden city because of its distinct sandstone and architecture. Bhagwan explained how to distinguish Hindu and Muslim houses (Hindu design has a lot more flowers, they are integral to the religion).



Date of marriage on a house in Jaisalmer



The fort of Jaisalmer is 847 years old, which makes it the second oldest fort of India, and it has the oldest palace. It was once again impressive, like the other forts before. Every single one looks completely different though.

Sadly, due to water erosion, the fort is slowly rotting away and nobody knows when it will fall apart. There are 5000 people living in the fort, and it has 50 hotels, 50 restaurants and 500 shops, which doesn't help preserving it.

Shop in Jaisalmer fort

View from Jaisalmer fort

Family living in Jaisalmer fort

After descending from the fort, we took a tuk-tuk to a cloth shop, where I found some really nice things for me. I also wanted an outfit with cloth I chose myself. They took measurements, cut it, sew it together and delivered it to the hotel. All within an hour. Wow!

Tailor shop in Jaisalmer

Then we landed in the house of a silversmith and his family and I chose some nice jewelry.

Shopping at a silversmith

It might sound like every guided trip through a city ends up in a shop. Well, it does. Easy like that.

In the beginning it was hard to just walk out again without buying anything, when I didn't find anything I liked, as they put so much effort in the whole process. Sometimes I wanted to give a little tip at least, but they all denied that. It would be their duty and job, they insisted.

Besides, all these shops were nice to be in. You could sit down, drink tea and look at the items being presented to you.

Now, all the street merchants are another chapter. In the beginning that might feel rude, but you won't get rid of them unless you wave them off like an annoying fly and just look in another direction.

Cow stealing carrots in the vegetables market

Wild pigs roaming the streets of Jaisalmer

After the end of that shopping spree in the early afternoon, we walked back to the hotel. Sanzi was waiting for us already and we left immediately towards Khuri, in the desert.

At a short break along the road, Sanzi explained to me how to find, or rather avoid snakes. I decided to look out for rabbit holes in the future. Snakes use them as their houses.



Road towards Khuri



Mangalam Resort in Khuri was really nice. Several huts with straw roofs and a fireplace in the middle of the resort.

We had to explain that we do NOT want to ride a camel up the dunes, nor take a camel cart. Actually did that back in Delhi in the tourist office already, but turns out you have to explain things a lot of times to get it through.

Instead, we walked. Now that was just great. We could see all the camels and people up on a high dune in the distance, so it was hard to miss. It was such a great feeling walking through the nature and uphill in the sand. Having arrived up on the dune, we went a bit further to a spot with almost no tourists to enjoy the sunset in silence. After sunset we made haste to be back in the resort before darkness. We had a huge tree as landmark, so that wasn't a problem either. Could also have followed the caravan of camels and tourists back to Khuri, but I rather wanted to enjoy the silence and beauty of the desert.

Khuri Mangalam Resort

Camels in Khuri



Walking to the desert dunes from Khuri



Walking to the desert dunes from Khuri

Camp in the desert near Khuri

Desert dunes near Khuri

Sunset in the desert near Khuri

We arrived perfectly in time before darkness. The evening ended with a great buffet while sitting on ottomans, listening to musicians and watching a graceful dancer.



Greetings from Agra

I am sorry I barely post anything. Just usually too tired in the evening or no/ limited internet available.

We arrived in Agra today and got to see the Taj Mahal. Really impressive. Was built by 20.000 people over 22 years.

Tomorrow we will take a train to Cochin in Kerala. Will take 40 hours and most likely no internet available during that time either.

I am sure it will be somewhat exhausting, but looking forward to the whole experience nevertheless!

Day 4 - Bikaner and Jaisalmer

In the morning we did a one-hour tour of the Junagarh fort in Bikaner.
The fort had been built by 16 different maharajas over 350 years. Each of the palaces of the fort looked different, representing the varying tastes of the maharajas. Really impressive looking at all the little details everywhere.

After that we left towards Jaisalmer, which is only about 100 km from the Pakistan border.
Of course, on the way there we had food at a roadside restaurant again.

Road between Bikaner and Jaisalmer

Tea stand in western Rajasthan style

Waterhole with cranes on the way to Jaisalmer

We arrived in Jaisalmer just in time to watch the sunset outside the city.

Sunset outside Jaisalmer

After checking in at Apollo Guest House, Sanzi walked us to the Desert Cultural Center & Museum, where we watched a muppet show. Sanzi had told us to come back the same road and not walk anywhere else, so we did that.

Stringpuppets at the puppet show in Jaisalmer

The roof top restaurant where we had dinner was about 500 m away from the guest house and somebody from the hotel joined us on our way there. Food was nice and I tried Kingfisher beer. It was quite cold and windy, but the nice view over the lit Jaisalmer fort made up for it.

Day 3 - Mandawa and Bikaner, Rajasthan

After a quite unexciting continental breakfast, our guide for the morning, Pinvin, showed us around Mandawa.
It was still early in the morning, so the streets were empty and filled with mist. That was a nice contrast to the usual hustle.
Pinvin led us to several havelis, built 200-400 years ago. Each of the havelis was unique, with different drawings on them. He also showed us a 4000 m deep well in the middle of town. I decided I should not lean over too far.

Streets of Mandawa in the morning

Haveli in Mandawa

Courtyard of a haveli in Mandawa

Dog feeding puppies

We ended up in a textiles shop, which was owned by Pinvins family.
Entering shops and buying goodies is always a huge procedure here. The merchant is spreading his wares before you, while you are being served tea. The items you like are put aside and presented to you again later.
I found a really nice wall hanging and we had a good and long chat with Pinvins brother about various subjects, like the Indian school system or salaries.

Donkey cart

Market Streets of Mandawa

Tailor in Mandawa

One of the many roadside merchants

One of the many camel carts

After having made our way back to the hotel, we left towards Bikaner. On the way we stopped at a roadside restaurant and I had a really really nice Malai Kofta. Taste was incredible and the food was so cheap (less than €2), just like Sanzi had told us.

Road to Bikaner

One of the many roadside tea stands/ restaurants

Before going to Bikaner, we made a quick reroute to Deshnok (30 km from Bikaner) for the Karnimata rat temple.
I found it soo cute having all the rats running around me and over my feet and trying to nibble my toes.

Rats at Karnimata temple

We arrived in Bikaner when it was dark already. The hotel looked awesome again, with an inner courtyard and four floors surrounding it. It even had Internet in the lobby, that is when I posted my entry about Day 1.

Day 2 - New Delhi and Mandawa, Rajasthan

We were supposed to be picked up from the hotel at 8. Once we were ready and had everything down in the lobby, it was only twenty minutes left, so we skipped breakfast. Instead, I went around the block and took pictures. I really liked just walking around freely.

Milk stall

Neighborhood of the hotel in New Delhi

Sleeping dog

I was back at the hotel at eight, but there was no car. After some time we called the tourist office and were told it was just a few minutes away. Half an hour later we asked the hotel reception when the car would arrive. Reception called the tourist office and told us it was just a few minutes away. After another thirty minutes I asked the receptionist to call the tourist office again and was a bit more pushy this time. He insisted it would only be another few minutes, or he would call a taxi instead. Indeed, a few minutes later we were picked up and told to hurry.
We were driven to the tourist office and Amir, the guy we made the booking with the day before, was really apologetic. All cars had been taken this morning and it would not happen again. I still wondered though why I was told three times that the car would pick us up in just a few minutes when they didn't have a car to start with...This is India, I guessed.

The car, which would take us around Rajasthan, would still need half an hour to arrive at the tourist office. We took the chance to find something to eat in the meantime. The guides Ganesh and Imran joined us.
It was a Sunday morning and the streets in that area were so empty compared to the evening before.
We went right next to the place we were last night. It was a fastfood restaurant combined with a sweets shop. The brand Kaleva is supposedly quite famous and can be found at several places in India.

Kaleva sweets shop

Our guides recommended food and it was really nice, but a bit too spicy for my taste (Puri Chole).

Puri Chole at Kaleva fastfood restaurant

We walked back to the tourist office. I really liked being able to see everything firsthand, and not from a car. So much going on everywhere. Merchants offering their wares, barbers, dogs, tuk-tuks, cycle-rickshaws.

Streets of New Delhi

Remains of demolished houses under the Metro line

We were introduced to our driver for the next 2 weeks, Sanzi. He seemed like a nice guy in his fifties maybe, and his English was reasonably good. Turned out he is doing this and other tours since 15 years.

We left towards Bikaner. That is over 300 km to drive, which doesn't sound too far, but a good portion of the road was in poor condition.
Sanzi is a good and careful driver. Really impressive how he could navigate around cars and people and cows so swiftly. He almost felt insulted when I put on my security belt though. It is only required to wear it in the front seats.
According to Sanzi, you need three things for secure driving: good horn, good brakes and good luck.

The oil cap got broken, and Sanzi had problems finding replacement on a Sunday with most shops being closed.

One of the many decorated trucks

Camel cart in Rajasthan

Halfway we stopped at Midway Avali Resorts for lunch. Sanzi told us it was a really touristy, way too expensive place. We should try it and next time he would show us cheaper places with as nice food. We did try it and we agreed with Sanzi. It was way too touristy for my taste, with stickers from German and other travel organizations on the door. Food was almost German prices and the richness of the taste just wasn't as great.

Driving through a rather small town

Cow in vegetable market just outside the car window

One of the many roadside tea stands

Later on, when it was foggy and dark, one of the wheels broke from the bad road. Sanzi got it replaced really fast though. He suggested spending the night in Mandawa instead of Bikaner, as that was a bit closer (still took us 2 hours to get there). No streetlights in case you wonder.

The hotel we stayed in that night was really beautiful, with little fountains and intricate details everywhere.

Dinner was underlined with local musicians and a gracious female dancer.

Mandawa Heritage Hotel

Day 1 - Arriving in New Delhi

After a smooth flight with Air India we landed punctually at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10.20 am local time. The eight hours in the air passed amazingly fast, even with only 2 hours of sleep. I was passing the time with watching Casablanca and listening to Indian music on the entertainment system.

After getting out of the plane, we went towards the exit of the airport and noticed the vast emptiness - it felt like the last resort before absolute chaos breaking loose.

Having claimed our bags we withdrew rupees and bought a prepaid sim card for phone and internet usage on the run. With some bottled water and the bill for a prepaid taxi to our hotel destination we felt ready to walk out through the wall of people we saw standing there.

We ventured towards the taxi stands and suddenly everything went really fast, bags were thrown into the back and we left.

The taxiride in itself just made me grin the whole time. I did not feel scared or threatened, rather just greatly amused.

This sheer chaos was really fascinating; 5 lanes of cars in 2 actual lanes is really just normal, just as honking everywhere and being stuck most of the time. A wild mix of cars, scooters, auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws going criss cross and passing each other wherever it fits at the last moment.

I would have no idea how to drive in this and am really glad for a driver who seems able to. I have no idea how it works, but it works.

I was so excited looking out of the windows and soaking up every scene i found. There was so much going on, it was dazzling and I didn't know where to look, or what to take a picture of.

People going on about their business, selling wares at the streetside, cows laying around, dogs scavenging for food, construction yards, dust and smog.

Driving through the ministry part of New Delhi, I saw amazing modern and huge buildings. These seemed to either belong to the police or military. It was also quite green, trees lining the street, and new tree seedlings everywhere. It seemed like they are trying to lower the air pollution, I noticed a huge information monitor displaying current ozone level and other climatic values.

We arrived at Paharganj district, but the taxi driver did not know where the hotel was, even though we had the full address. So he let us off at a closeby tourist information center, so they could point us in the right direction.

That is when the whole journey somewhat changed...

The guy at the tourist center looked up our hotel and told us it was really not a good place to stay at.

Also, our plan was going to Agra the next day but we had not booked a train yet, and they were all full.

So, instead of just letting everything come up at short notice, we actually ended up with a somewhat planned itinerary.

First going through Rajasthan with a driver for 2 weeks.

Taking a 40hour train from Agra to Cochin.

Spending 24 hours in Backwaters.

Taking a train to Goa.

Staying roughly a week in Goa.

Flying back to Delhi and spending the last days there before going back to Germany.

I had very mixed feelings about this until the next day. The plan sounded good, but I did not like having this planning hat put over me and not being flexible anymore. Even though it is still possible changing some details, like hotels and some cities, we are still bound to the greater plan due to train and flight bookings. When booking everything just a day or two in advance there is the great risk of not getting any free seats or having to pay a lot more.

But ok, now we had a plan.

A guide took an auto-rickshaw with us to another, supposedly better hotel. This made me grin even more, now we had the mix of traffic, enjoyed in open air and a rather small vehicle.

Again, the driver was really good with avoiding other vehicles or obstacles/potholes at the last moment.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwv5Rc9V9hI 

The hotel room turned out to be really nice, even had a nice bathroom.

Not having had enough sleep and feeling rather knackered from that and the sudden change of plans, I could not get myself to catch up on some sleep. There were too many discoveries to be made outside!

We were supposed to be picked up 1.5 hours later for visiting the tourist office again and receiving the travel documents.

As soon as we went outside and paused to look at the map, we were pulled in by the hotel manager, seated on the sofa, served tea and asked what we wanted to do. I explained we just wanted to have a look at the surroundings. We were told to wait there, they would call someone from the tourist office and arrange a sightseeing trip. Everything happened really fast again, so there was no chance to decline the "offer". Again I had mixed feelings about this. It all felt really arranged, but on the other hand I was also happy for just sitting down, sipping tea, and not having to figure out our next steps.

10 minutes later we were sitting in a car with a nice guide, being driven around the city. First we went to the governmental centre, where we walked around a bit. 

 

Governmental centre New Delhi



After that, we drove past the India Gate and stopped at the Birla Mandir Temple. As soon as we got out of the car and walked into the temple, all tiredness was gone again and I loved every moment. Walking through all the people on the street, taking off the shoes and leaving them and our cameras/cellphones in a secure room, walking around the temple. It is a really nice and friendly looking place with flower offerings everywhere. The setting, the scents, the break of dusk, the music, it all added up to a great experience. Sadly I could not capture this on photos, so I've added a picture from Wikipedia.

Birla Mandir Temple New Delhi

 The guide Tanveer was eager to answer any question we had. I just had real problems understanding his accent, so I was either asking him to repeat or staying semi-questionmarked and nodding anyway.

Now it was time for driving back to the office and getting our travel documents. They were not completely finished, so we would receive them the next morning before leaving towards Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Our stomachs were kinda growling, so the guide showed us a place to eat closeby. It was an Indian fast-food restaurant, cheap but very nice food.

Bangla Food House New Delhi

Then after a long day we retreated to our hotel, and I was happy I could take a hot shower, it had been quite cold in Delhi.
 

Enjoying India

Good morning everyone!

Just woke up in Mandawa, Rajasthan.

We were so busy so far that I did not find the time to write a proper entry. I will do as soon as I find some time, I promise.

Now we will go and have breakfast in this nice heritage hotel.