Day 3, Rajasthan Trip

Bikaner to Jaisalmer

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel (yogurt was quite good, as I’d been told; kids enjoyed the familiar: cornflakes and toast) – and while roasted tomatoes aren’t what I’d typically consider b’fast food, they were yummy too!) Then began our long journey to Jaisalmer.

We stopped at Khichan, near Phalodi, to see hundreds of demoiselle cranes gathering around its lake (a typical sight from Sept. through March, my guide book says).

Several Indian children – barefoot despite rocks/gravel – rushed over and posed for photos, then wanted to see themselves on my digital camera. We walked to the cranes’ spot and observed them – blue/gray – then were invited (by these children) to view their home – a grass hut with what looked like an adobe foundation (today we saw a lot of sandstone huts, many set up villa fashion – a bit of a Mexico feel).

A baby goat hopped up on the outdoor beds, and a half nude baby (we saw a lot of them on our trip too – usually w/ t-shirt on and nothing else) wandering around, attended to by the children and a wrinkled old man dressed in white.

Upon departing we got asked for money so apparently they’re quite used to tourists and getting paid for modeling.

A word about Jai, our security guy. On the first day of our journey he informed me quite seriously that he doesn’t smoke, eat meat or drink. No doubt I took the wind out of his sails when I later ordered a Kingfisher and enjoyed a meal of lamb. I suppose I could also have lit a cigarette, as I’ve been known to do that, too…

From the birds we continued on our journey – more sand, fewer camels, fewer people, more army camps and trucks. We got to our lovely fort/castle-looking hotel with pool mid-afternoon, promptly took advantage of the water, then sunbathed until it was time to go for a special sunset viewing from a Hindi monument on a hillside overlooking the city.

Note about angry mother – me: while we were at the pool an employee tried to take photos of the kids and scared Ava to tears. I was at the other end of the pool, so came back, asked the woman to please leave her alone and calmed Ava down. Ten minutes later I was again finishing a lap at the other end of the pool when repeat performance occurred, same hotel employee. At this point I yelled at the woman, who vanished and hopefully won’t torment any other poor unsuspecting 3 year olds.

The sunset was amazing, and we had plenty of company – locals and tourists – enjoying the view over the city, fort and all. Dozens of windmills could be seen on the horizon (took me back to my drive through Wyoming this past summer.)

After the sunset we went to the local market in search of new flip flops for Ava as I left hers at our first stop. We scored at the 2nd shop, did a bit of bargaining (less than a buck), then checked out the rest of the market – great sights/sounds – people getting hair cuts in open air stalls, cows wandering around, motorcycles dodging pedestrians and everything else filling the streets. Ava scored on 2 bracelets, I got a set of bangles, then we headed to dinner at the hotel.

We were pleasantly surprised with a lovely buffet in the courtyard and entertainment by a Rajasthani band and dancers, outfitted in turbans and traditional dress. The kids had fun dancing on the grass near them (but steered clear of being part of the act). A great night under a lovely starry sky!