Rajasthan: Roadtrip to Ranakpur

We said goodbye to the guys at Pleasant Haveli in Jaisalmer. I have to admit they are really pleasant. They didn't charge us for any of the snacks that we ordered including beer and pop. In fact one day I asked for a coke and they didn't have one, only pepsi. So I said "no thanks." Next thing I know one of the guys hops on his motorbike and drives to the fort and picks me up one - now that's service. And when we left they gave each of us flowers.

Back to the train station at 5:00pm and we were shocked to see the train already there. And not only that but they were cleaning it. Don't worry though, it took them so long to clean it that we still left 45 minutes late. Oh, and don't worry - the resident mice still made the trip with us. Tip #1: don't leave luggage unzipped on the floor. Tip #2: if you take your shoes off for the train ride check them for unwanted visitors before you put them on again.

We took the train to Jodhpur and back to Heritage Kuchaman Haveli just for an overnight. First thing in the morning we took a prearranged taxi to Ranakpur and then onto Udaipur.

The roads are quite good, with the usual near head-on collisions. Trucks carry ridiculous loads, motorbikes carry too many people and trucks and buses fly by with people hanging out the doors and windows and packed on top. Sheep are herded across and cows stand in the middle. Vehicles don't slow down - they just whip around them - and the cows don't flinch.

It took three hours to drive to Ranakpur, the site of the Jain temple. The temple is well worth visiting. It is entirely made of marble with over 1400 columns holding it up. There are statues and carvings and every bit of the temple is carved to tell a story.

The marble keeps it nice and cool inside and people sit and enjoy the calm beauty, and try to take in the history and incredible detail in every part of the temple.

The temple is surrounded by hills and is three hours on either side of Jodhpur and Udaipur so it could be a day trip from either place but we carried on to our final destination: Udaipur. Now I sound like we were on the Amazing Race...our final destination...

Jaisalmer Camel Trek

We arranged our half day trip through the guys at our haveli. We left at 2:00pm in a jeep and made two stops before the camel ride.

The first was at some royal tombs and the second was at a deserted Brahman village. The story goes that the Prime Minister wanted to marry a Brahmin girl but it was not allowed because he was of a lower caste. He tried everything to get them to change their minds but they refused.

As Prime Minister, he raised taxes and prices for goods and made life miserable for the town. So much so that one night the whole town just up and left. The town is mostly just crumpled buildings now but there is a temple and two homes that you can walk through.

Camel treks can be arranged anywhere from 1/2 day - 3 weeks. I think many people go in groups overnight or maybe for up to three days and visit small desert villages. There are a couple popular places where everyone likes to go because of the sand dunes: Sam and Khuri. Luckily our camel ride was not planned for either of these places because tourist bus after tourist bus passed us on their way to one of those places.

We stopped at one of the tent hotels and started our ride from there, just the four of us, the guide and his young son. We had two camels, named Frodo and Sam (named by Alanna and Craig - wonder what books they are reading?). Craig and I went on one and Michael and Alanna on the other. We walked past one little village where the people didn't even have huts, just little fences roped together to stake their claim to a little piece of earth.

The camel ride was an hour through the desert to some nice sand dunes. There were only a handful of tourists here and there on the dunes. The kids ran up and down the dunes and some gypsy ladies with their babies came and sang for us - for one reason only of course - money. And who shows up next but a guy with a bag full of chips and beer. We shooed them away so we could enjoy watching the camels, the dunes and the sunset.

On the way back Alanna and Craig rode together. I went with Michael and this time I got to ride in the front with the stirrups - it was way more comfortable. We got to run quite a bit on the way back and it was so much fun - the kids loved it and giggled the whole time.

Rajasthan - Part 3 Jaisalmer

Caught the 5:00am train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer...promptly at 6:30am. This time we were in second class A/C which means just the four of us in one open compartment.

Arrived in Jaisalmer at noon and we were met at the train station by Pleasant Haveli staff. This little haveli has character and is run by two super nice guys. It is in a pretty run down, smelly part of town and the rooms are basic. By this time I felt like we were on a backpacking trip! This is a picture of our neighbour across the street feeding her cows. The guys standing on their rooftop are flying kites - a common site throughout Rajasthan.

There's something quirky about Jaisalmer. It's the town furthest west and in the desert. It's not easy to get too, but it was packed with tourists - the lure of the camel trek. It is small and easy to walk about, with tons of little shops. Jaisalmer's Fort is still lived in but is really just a big mall of tourist shops. There is garbage all over and cows and camels and other animals. The fort is crumbling and really is in despair.

The quirky thing is the lure of the shops. Suddenly Alanna had to have a baggy pair of pants that all the tourists wear. Both she and I spent a good half hour (or more) trying on embroidered leather sandals. There are shops full of camel leather goods and before I knew it Michael, Craig and Alanna were all walking around with Indiana Jones hats.

The haggling in Jaisalmer is something else and rather frustrating. So much so that there were many times we just walked away because the prices were so inflated. Glass lanterns are popular all over Rajasthan and one day we asked a shop keeper how much they were. He said 2200 Rp. The next day when we went back and someone else was working and he said they were 3500. So again, even though we really liked them we just walked.

The best things we bought were two Indian blankets/shawls for 200 Rp each ($5Can). We brought these for our camel ride - we weren't sure how cold it would get in the desert once the sun set (more about that on the next blog). They also came in handy for our evening "beer on the rooftop."