Going Dutch

I met a Dutch traveler over breakfast and we decided to head over to Ajmer together. That was certainly an experience. From the bus to Ajmer we walked forever trying to find The mausoleum of India's most significant Sufi sage, half a kilometer can sometimes mean four. I found it sad that we had to be warned numerous times to watch our belongings inside a mosque. We crammed into the inner sanctum around the tomb where I shared stories of the perennial stampedes that plague India. For some reason this, and the shoving and full on body contact made Nikki leave through a side exit. I got right up to the front and was next to touch the tomb but couldn't see what the observers were exactly doing so stepped back for fear of being found out as a non-believer.

Nikki had never had goat before so for the first time since leaving Mumbai I had meat. The restaurant was a bit confusing because I asked for goat in Hindi but the menu said mutton. Since my Hindi is still very weak and they didn't know English, it was a huge confusion with the whole restaurant in stitches as I tried to explain what I wanted using animal impressions. Turns out everyone in the restaurant was from Ahmedabad and spoke Gujrati, which finally made things much easier. By mutton, they actually mean goat. As we were eating they sat down next to Nikki one by one to take a photgraph with her. She was the only white person we saw in town but the superstar attention made me feel a little left out and I wanted to have someone take a picture with me. Nikki called the little girl back and as soon as I sat down next to her she cried. Just as we left I saw the butcher with the carcass of a freshly killed goat on the sidewalk and swarming with flys.

We then found our way to a Mosque that was built built by Aurangzeb, mostly with parts from plundered Jain and Hindu parts. The pillars still have the original figures on them, only roughly scratched off. On the way back I was swarmed with kids and commented that I was the movie star now but they left very quickly. We commented on how not persistent they were, usually the beggars stay with you for a lot longer before they realize they are wasting their time. They weren't wasting their time, I was a cell phone and camera lighter. That's why there are no pictures of Jaipur. And all my pictures from Pushkar are borrowed. I'll have to go to Delhi to buy a replacement, no camera shops in this small town.

Pink City

I polished off my sightseeing this morning. I hired a rickshaw driver for the day to take me to the center of Pink City where I could check out the City Palace which is cool but not super impressive after seeing so many other Rajasthani palaces. What was impressive was the Jantar Mantar. Maharaja Jai Singh was really into astronomy and astrology so he built parks full of astronomical observation devices throughout his empire. This was the most complete and well preserved of these. Skip the audio tour, it was so bad I gave it back after about 10 minutes and sprung for a private guide instead. You really do need a guide to decipher these arcane structures and it was money well spent. These are a series of very large and very accurate measuring devices. One of them is the largest sundial ever built. The reason it's so big is that it's shadow can show the time to an accuracy of two seconds. You can see the shadow moving as you stand there.

The Rishaw guy then took me to his favorite spot in Jaipur, the royal mausoleums. It was as stunning as you would expect and also nice and quiet because it's a bit out of town. There were some serious steps, about a foot hight each, leading up to a ridge and then a further ramp with sweeping views of the city which is an interesting mix of domes flat roofs and cell towers.

We rushed back to the post office so I could mail back the extra shit I've been carrying around. I packed way too heavy and shipped more than half my stuff back to my aunt's house in Mumbai. I realized that I just completed the major stuff-buying state in India and barely bought anything, just a couple of set of clothes and a duvet cover which I probably won't use. I guess I'm over my knick knack shopping phase. I was around a lot of markets but never was inspired to really get into them.

Wow Pushkar is awesome. As soon as I arrived it felt immediately calmer and more pleasant than big city Jaipur. A tiny town with over 500 temples surrounding a small lake, it's the only place in India where Brahma, creator of the universe, may be worshiped. It's a major pilgrimage site among Gujratis. Meat, alcohol and drugs are strictly forbidden but hashish and bhang are acceptable. But late at night, walking down the street I was offered a full menu of drugs by a very friendly group of young people.

There is also a noticeable white tourist population and a LOT of shops catering to their buying needs. By noticeable I mean maybe a couple dozen but it's a small town. The white folk here are different than the other quick stop town all over India. They look like burners, certainly influenced by the sadus. Women dressed in flowing scarves and bells and long dread locks. These are the Indianest white people I've ever seen. And they speak fluent Hindi.

An Early Mid-Trip Crisis

The Jaipur Intercity train had frequent stops at the towns and villages along the way.  I slept for about an hour until a pack of loud Marwardi grandmothers boarded and of course sat on my bench.  And they really got up close and personal Practically sitting on my lap.   Luckily very few people on this train spoke English, but It did mean that I was stared at by just about everyone for the entire 10 hour ride.  When I got to Jaipur I got a bad feeling for the place, it was crowded and had little discernible charm.  I figured I will move on the next day.

I'm coming up on the 1/3rd point on my trip and coming to realize that it's completely impossible to see and do all that I would like in just 3 months.  I've kept up a frenetic pace so far, with just one or two nights in each city, sightseeing all day and covering impossible miles on foot and local busses.  I try to do most of my travel at night so I can use my time as effectively as possible.  Everywhere I go I hear about another place I would love to add to the itinerary.  I wonder if I tack on another month will I be able to check out more of the country, or would I use that time to fully experience the pace of life in a particular local.

India is unfathomably large and varied, there's no way to see any representative cross section of the lands, cultures and communities no matter how long you devote to exploring it.  As fascinating as it all is, life on the road is hard.  I wake up in a new city which I then have to navigate.  I make and have to say goodbye to a new friend in each town.  The inconveniences of having to negotiate every interaction, deciding who you can trust and who is wasting your time and the constant fear of dehydration make the simplicities of home life seem so gratifying, like being able to trust your food, smooth roads and open spaces.

I'm going to try to find a spot I like and spend a week there to decompress.  Right now I'm thinking possibly a yoga Ashram in the Himalayas.

No Photos - Camera Lost!

Oh Rats

Bikaner has yet another fort. It's incredible that so many waves of Afghan and Persian invaders fought over these barren lands for millennia. They guard valuable trade routes and these cities in Rajasthan have grown fabulously wealthy by controlling them. Their entire history is centered around the magnificent forts and the art that flourished within the stone walls. They also developed a very bizarre sense of honor that hid their women away and allowed sati. I just wonder how they managed to squeeze enough food out of these deserts.

The reason I came to Bikenar was because it is close to the village of Deshnok, the home of Deshnok Devi Mandir, the Rat Temple. The temple is devoted to Karni Mata, a 14th century priestess who could reportedly bring the dead back to life. She was asked o resurrect a child of the musician caste and unsuccessfully interceded on the family's behalf with the God of Death. Knowing that only rats are outside the dominion of Yama she proclaimed that all people of that caste would be reborn as rats.

The temple is a sanctuary for rats. They run fat and free all over the ground in swarms. People feed the rats sweets and milk and obtain their blessing by eating the offering that the rats nibbled on.

It was just about one of the most revolting sites I've ever seen. I went with the expectation of being creeped out and actually expected even more rat. I imagined a sea of rats that scamper all over your feet but you can step around them. But they are still rats and they are filth and their corpses are everywhere.

Inside the Fort

I met up with the guy and gals from the night before over breakfast.  We had planned on exploring the town and do a bit of shopping.  The girls were bargaining rock stars, I was very impressed.  The Jain temples were spectacular, as the usually are.  There are supposed to be seven of the, but because they were all interconnected it looked like only 3.  When I went to buy my admission ticket the ticket seller said, no, no Indians are free.  Most of the sites have resident and non-resident admission tickets.  I've usually been getting resident rates.

A significant theme of my experience so far in India has been about figuring out my level of Indians.  A lot of my identity growing up had been that of an Indian.  I may not have been particularly involved with the Indian community, outside of family, but to westerners I was exotic and I went with it.  In India I identify much more with the tourists.  We can relate to the experience of navigating India as an outsider.  It really is very different than any other place, more unique than any place I have ever been to.

When asked where I'm from, if I answer Gujrat I feel a bit of a fraud but if I say USA they say "You look Indian, but not Indian."  I'm obviously a Non-Resident Indian, but people still wonder.  I get stared at constantly.  It's not a bad-intentioned stare, just curiosity.  But it is a little awkward when everyone in a train is looking at you for hours and they don't look away or smile when you meet their eyes.  If they speak English they want to practice and that's really uncomfortable.  You don't want to be rude but if you're doing something you really don't want to make small talk through a barrage of inane questions.

I'm also starting to figure out who is starting a conversation because they are genuinely interested in getting to know you or if they are trying to be your friend so you go to their guest house or their uncle's shop.  The problem is that many folks are genuinely helpful and curious so sometimes you miss out on a real interaction because you don't realize until the end that they don't have anything to sell you.

I dress a little differently than the locals, but not like a tourist either.  Indian clothing is quite flamboyant.  The men wear bright flashy shirts and skin tight pants that flare a little at the bottom or jeans with wild embroidery.  I don't wear shorts but I do carry a backpack.  I usually wear solid colors, long loose pants and a long sleeve cotton pull over shirt.

Another Indian fashion phenomenon is the notorious mustaches, especially in Rajasthan.  I had the barber give me a "Manoj", that's a goatee but with the link between mustache and chin hair shaved, which would be the "French Cut".  It's not quite as traditional as a handlebar mustache.  I think it well embodies my insider/ outsider status.

I may be more passable if my Hindi improves.  Sab Kuch Milega.

  

Things are Looking Up

I think the crapiness that was going on was all centered in Jodhpur, I just needed to get out of that vortex.  From the time I entered Jaisalmer Fort everything has been way better.  Jaisalmer is different from other cities in Rajastan in that private homes existed within the fort and most of these are now hotels but about 5,000 families still live in the fort as well, most of whom are occupied in the tourist trade.

I went to a guest house that a bunch of people had recommended, including my guide book  but they didn't have any available rooms.  I absolutley needed WiFi that evening so had to pick a place that could provide it to me.  We tried their sister property next door which was pretty shabby and luckily the signal didn't reach.  He walked me over to the hotel bordering his other side and from one of the rooms I could get full signal.  Unfortunately that room was a beautiful two bedroom, one sitting room, two bathroom suite.  That's a bit out of my price range.  He called the owner, pleaded my case, and got it for me for less than $15 for the night on the promise that I don't turn on the AC.  I wholehearted recommend the Surja and Rangmandir Hotels.

I took a much needed shower and washed all my clothes (with great guilt.)  All the guide books, as well as the Indian government recommend travelers don't stay at guest houses within the fort because the drainage systems can't handle the water from all the tourists and it's destroying the foundations of the fort.  But it's very cool being in the fort and the people here are actually really great.

I took my laptop back next door to the rooftop restaurant and surfed the net and drank beer with some cool tourists as the sun set.  I slept very contentedly that night.  A bit of kindness and pleasant surroundings really help put things back in place.

 

In a Jodhpuri Hole

After visiting yet another thousand year old temple in Osian (interior glammed up in typical Marwardi style) I took a bus back to Jodhpur to take the overnight bus to Jaisalmer.  I seem to have gotten stuck in a Jodhpuri hole.  I have spent an inordinately long time here considering all of it's charms can be enjoyed in a single afternoon.

Jodhpur is known for their textiles so I figured I would do a bit of shopping.  My cousin Anand gave me a recommendation for a shop.  On telling the hotel owner, he insisted that I could get the same stuff for less elsewhere and he would take me around, of course that tacked a taxi fee onto my hotel bill.

The first stop was the shop Anand had suggested and he was right, the quality was unmistakably good.  The salesman was a charectar.  He had his whole spiel well rehersed including dramatic gestures and stories of royalty and movie stars.  I had to bite the sides of my mouth to stop the laugh of mockery from erupting from my face.  He also claimed that these were the same items produced for designer labels, I've heard that line in just about every market.  If designers found their products being sold off label I think they would probably want to switch suppliers.

We still checked out a few other places and it all paled after seeing the first.  We spent way too long with the other places because we had to sit and make pleasaentries with them, next time I'm not sticking around if there is no business to be made.  As seems to always be the case here, offers of help always end up costing you more time and money than if you just did it yourself in the first place.  I ended up going back to the original place to buy up my stuff ten minutes before they closed.  I now have a blanket made from the testicle hairs of a mythical Tibetan goat.

After dinner I was thought I was still early for my train and just as I'm settling up my tab I realized that my piece of crap phone decided to switch back an hour from the actual time.  My bus, the last one for the night, was gone.  Fuck, another night in this rat hole hostel.  I was lucky enough to capture the bottom floor room which was much cooler than the top floor closet but the down side was that the bathroom was absolutely revolting so I continued to go up the four flights for my ablutionary needs.

I will need to burn some sage or sacrifice a bull to Kali.  Something, anything to break me from my curse.

Why must I make everything harder than it needs to be.  I'm over this low budget bullshit.  Why am I pretending to be a poor student.  I don't need to stay in the airconditioned tent on safari, but I can at least spring for hot water showers at my hotels.