It was with great excitement that Kaitlin and I travelled to
the land of magic carpets and caravan camels.
We flew into Delhi and arrived at 2am or so, with no money. (It turns out it’s nearly impossible to get rupees
outside of India.) We headed to a hotel
in an alley about 10 minutes from the airport so we could catch some sleep
before our connecting flight to Jodhpur the next morning. Upon arrival at Jodhpur (also known as The
Blue City because everything is painted blue), we were met by our private driver,
Nand, from ‘India by Car and Driver’. The
plan was to drive around the entire desert state of Rajasthan (and then dip
down to Agra). The plan was NOT to get
three marriage proposals, but Kaitlin managed to do that anyway throughout the
course of our trip. (She did not accept
any… hehehe.)
We would return to both Delhi and Jodhur later in the trip, but the first order
of business was to drive right on through towards Jaisalmer (The Golden
City). Jaisalmer made me feel like I’d
stepped back hundreds of years.
Everything was yellow and brown, being made of sand and cow dung. Ok, that doesn’t sound that so nice, but it
was beautiful.
 |
| Displaying their colourful wares |
After a few days, we headed into
the Thar Desert, which is right on the border of India and Pakistan. We rode camels for hours before giving our beasts
of burden a break on the hot sand dunes.
I should also mention that this was during heat like I’d never
experienced before. Not even Hong Kong
is this hot! It was well over 50
degrees! However, it was a dry heat, and
I stayed covered most of the time, so it was all good. Somehow, in the middle of the desert, miles
from anywhere, a man showed up at just the right time with cold beer while we
were resting on the dunes. It might have
been simply a mirage, but it was the most refreshing beer I’d ever had.
 |
| Riding camels through the desert |
 |
| In the Thar Desert |
 |
| My camel is watching the sunset |
That night, we saw an incredible fire eating, sword
swallowing, traditional dancing show in a tiny little village while we ate the
best meal ever (actually, every meal I had in India turned out to be the best
meal ever). After the show, we were
given the choice to sleep in some little village huts or out in the
desert. Of course, we chose the
desert! We were quickly whisked away in
the back of someone’s pickup truck and driven 15 minutes out to the middle of
nowhere. They set up a makeshift bed
(which surprised us, as we were prepared to sleep on the ground with the
scorpions) and left us there, saying they’d be back to get us in the
morning. What a night! This was the night we discovered that camels
growl in their sleep (and how thankful we were that it was not a very lost
tiger).
 |
| In our desert bed |
I stayed awake for a long time thinking about how the world is timeless and
political borders are arbitrary… there was nothing in the desert to
differentiate whether it was 2012 of 200 B.C.
There was nothing to differentiate this border desert from Pakistan, and
all of the Middle East which lies beyond.
I thought that these bright stars illuminating the endless desert were
likely quite similar to what the wisemen and shepherds experienced while making
their pilgrimage to Bethlehem all those years ago. I awoke at 4:30 and decided to let Kaitlin
sleep. I climbed to the top of a nearby
sand dune and fixated on the east. Signs
of morning gradually sprung up around me: stars modestly covered themselves in
silk scarves as the sun lifted its sleepy head, scarabs began looking for the
breakfast, and a transformer blew in a distant village because too many people
had used electricity at the same time.
 |
| Heading back to the village the next morning |
Jodhpur and Jaipur (The Pink City) were full of both ancient
sites and bustling markets. In Jodhpur,
we stayed with a local family who graciously welcomed us into their home. In Jaipur, we thought we’d switch things up
and stay in a palace. It was so fancy Ifelt
a little uncomfortable at times; they even cut our food for us! But man, was it ever gorgeous!
 |
| The palace in Jaipur |
Then we headed into the jungle
in search of tigers…. and we found one!
The tiger was bathing in a pond, but when he saw us he started stalking
towards us. (A lesson thoroughly
impressed on us in South Africa was NEVER break the shape of the vehicle you’re
in. Animals see a 4x4 safari vehicle as
a large predator, but if you stick your hand out or climb on the hood, as the
boy in India did, the animal will start to see the vehicle as smaller animals
combined together to look bigger, like a herd of antelope.) Luckily, the guide summoned the boy back into
the vehicle in time, but I was starting to get worried.
 |
| Roar! |
We
didn’t stay directly in the jungle but rather in a small village with a big
name right outside it. The hotel we
stayed at had the best food ever (it was my first time trying cashew curry) and
you just couldn’t beat the fact that they plunked around 10 baby albino bunnies
on our table so we could cuddle and play with them while we waited for our
food.
 |
| So many baby albino bunnies!!! (My red eyes tell you just how allergic I was to this pile of cuteness.) |
Our last stop was Agra, where we saw the Taj Mahal. I’m not usually one for looking at buildings,
but this was a work of art.
 |
| Taj Mahal |
Despite my love of India, I need to mention the extreme
poverty. Indian people are some of the
friendliest and most welcoming I have ever met.
However, they are also some of the most destitute. We drove past many shanty towns where it
would have been dangerous for us, as outsiders, to even enter past the main
road. When I travel, I find myself frustrated
with my powerlessness to help people right where they’re at. I always thought that when I was finally able
to travel the world, I’d swoop in with bags of clothes and hygiene supplies,
throw some money into the air and change lives.
Reality is not like that though.
Social hierarchy, government, organized crime, and exploitation of the
weakest and poorest make helping not just difficult, but actually dangerous,
for both giver and receiver. I help
where I can, but not in the ways I’d always dreamed of.
 |
| In a bustling city |
 |
| Men played their instruments all over the place. |
To end on a happy note, I will tell you about the animals of
India. People don’t have cars
there. They have camels and elephants to
transport their family from Point A to Point B.
These animals (along with all the wild cows and goats roaming the
street) are highly revered and are not mistreated in the slightest. I have actually seen animals living better
than people in India. Just like cars,
you might want a different colour or style from your neighbours… how can you do
this with elephants? Decorate! Kaitlin and I were very lucky to find a
family that allowed us to paint their elephant.
What a wonderful experience!
 |
| Painting an elephant |
 |
| The snake charmer let me sit with him and his snake! |
**Washrooms are, ummm, a special thing in India, and in
other countries I’ve been to. I already
wrote a post on that though, so there’s no need to repeat myself. Go check it out
here. **
**Nand was helpful, reliable and funny throughout our entire
trip and ‘India by Car and Driver’ helped us to arrange things in a way we just
wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. If
you are going to India, you must book with them.**
**Aladdin actually take place in ancient Iraq, but it still felt all magical in India**
No comments:
Post a Comment