After visiting Agra we headed back to New Delhi for one day. We went to well known Khan Market. We took it easy since we were preparing for our next trip. Later that day we took an auto rickshaw to the train station. The problem was that there are three train station in Delhi and we couldn’t figure out which one we were supposed to go to, and non of the locals seem to know either. We had only a few minuets till our train left so we randomly chose one train station and I was sent into to verify whether we were at the right one. It turns out it was, so we ran to the platform and barely caught our train. My friend had booked a 3 tier sleeper class car with no a/c. It turns out that it was the most disgusting train car I’ve ever stepped into. That painful ride was 8 hours long but I was really looking forward to Jaisalmer.
Jaisalmer is a town in Rajasthan and located in the middle of the Thar desert. It’s known for it’s fort and it’s camel treks. The market place area is a series of crooked alleys that you can get easily lost in.
We arrived mid-morning and we ended up kinda getting tricked into getting a ride by a man who happened to be at the train station and also owning a hotel, Roop Mahal. His name was Chandra and he was pretty charming so we looked at his hotel. We were tired so we decided to stay at his hotel because it was only about $15 a night for a room that was pretty nice plus it was split three ways. Chandra was a pretty shady character and I definitely saw a little kid working long hours there but I only stayed for two nights.
The first day we spent watching tv (not my idea, it was the choice of the two other girls and they won the vote), booking our camel trek, then later we wandered around the market place. We ate at a scenic roof top restaurant that was located inside the fort and overlooked the city.
The following day we left at 8 am to begin our camel trek. There were 8 people in our group, me and my two other friends, a british guy, a german girl, a scottish girl, and two other Americans who were a couple. They were all very friendly and I enjoyed their company. We piled into a jeep and after a 30 min ride further into the desert we arrived at a stop where we met out camels and our guides. There were maybe 11 guides who were all members of nomadic tribes who lived on the border of India and Pakistan. I was the first one to get a camel and I was terrified! Once I got on I realized how tall they were. I’ve never been on a horse or a camel so I wasn’t familiar with how their steps felt. My camel was called Raju and at first we didn’t get along. He would go of course and I would end up separated from the group. Their noses are pierced and the reigns are attached to it. I didn’t like tugging on them because I could stand hearing the yells of the camels when they were in pain. One of the guides hit Raju really hard and Raju started screaming. I really didn’t want Raju to continue getting off course because I didn’t want him to get hit anymore. After an hour of riding, I started getting accustomed to Raju, and he of me. He would go anywhere I told him to and would run if I told him to, and I never had to pull on his reigns. I never mastered the technique on getting him to sit down.
After a few hours my butt felt so sore and I didn’t feel like riding anymore, but then we took at 3 hour break for lunch. The sun was too high to ride anyways. We had our lunch that was prepared by our guides which was rice, chapathi, daal, and ghee. We all took a nap then we began riding again.
We took a small chai break at a village. While the guides were taking showers, an old man came to us asking for ibuprofen and band-aids, luckily I had both with me so I gave him some. Then that old man invited us to his house for chai. His house was a little circular hut that was made from earth so it was nice and cool inside. His whole family lived in the other huts next to him but they also spend weeks living around the desert, and those huts are more like a home base for them.
Then we rode for a a few more hours, then we made out camp for the night. Several little kids from a nearby village came to our camp and asked us for stuff. I didn’t have anything for them but that didn’t matter to the kids. They asked me for my earrings, bracelets, and shoes. One little girl snatched the hair band out of my hair. I wasn’t going to fight her for it back so I let her have it, I really had no other option.
We had dinner at our camp, and it was the same as our lunch. I was really nervous about sleeping outside. I had never been camping and I was scared that an animal or scorpion would bite me. We didn’t have any tents, we only had sleeping bags. Around 3 am I woke up to a weird animal call. It sounded kinda like a cat, and it was really near, but it was dark out and I couldn’t see anything. We had a dog to watch over us and he started barking. Me and my friend Caroline were so scared we hid under the covers. Then after a few minuets she tapped me to show me something. She pointed to the sky and I was shocked. I had never seen the night sky so clearly. I could see a ton of constellations, the milky way, and two shooting stars. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in India.
The next day we had breakfast which was bread, jam, and chai. I went to a nearby bush to relieve myself, but the bush started making noises and I think an animal was inside so I went running away to find a tree.
My two friends and me were supposed to say another night and day but I didn’t want to. My butt was terribly sore and I wasn’t feeling too good. I decided to go back to Jaisalmer with the other group. At lunch time I said goodbye to my two friends and went back to town. Once I got to Jaisalmer I went back to the Roop Mahal and booked a room. It was the first time I was alone during the trip and I was a bit scared. I found an internet cafe, then ate dinner at an ‘italian’ restaurant, then went to bed early. There were a ton of power outages in the city that night so it was unbearably hot.
The next day I explored the market place. I hung out at a barber shop because I wanted a hair cut. I chatted it up with one of the owners and he was surprised that I wasn’t Indian, or had any Indian ancestry. After a while he walked me over the a hair salon because they were taking to long with the other customers. I got my eyebrows threaded and also a hair cut, all for about $7. The hairdresser practically told me her life story, I really liked her. After she cut my hair she styled it, and it look absolutely terrible! I looked like I had just walked off the set of a bollywood movie. It was huge, poofy, and wavy. I payed and thanked her quickly and rushed out of the store. I was embarrassed to walk in the streets with my hair down so I had to put it up.
Later I went searching for a bakery since I was in the mood for some Indian sweets. A guy who is a local art teacher walked me over to a bakery he knew of. He asked me if I was Indian (I got that question everywhere I went) and he was surprised when I told him I wasn’t. When we step into the bakery the shop owner asks me in hindi what I would like, and I was going to reply but then the teacher told the guy that I was white (gori- white skinned to be exact) and the shop keeper was surprised. So then a huge conversation began between me and five old men who were in the shop. They asked me why I was brown like them if I was from the US. I told them that my family was from El Salvador, but they had never heard of it. So then I said Central America, and the pictured the middle of the USA. So then I said I was Latina, and one man said, “Oho, she’s from China!”, and I said no and laughed so hard. I’m sure that they still have no idea why I am brown and from the US. I just bought some Amul butterscotch ice cream and a few other things and went back to the hotel. Two hours later my friends returned from their camel trek and then we went to the railroad station to go to Jaipur.
I really enjoyed Jaisalmer. I wish I could have stayed longer because I didn’t even get to explore the fort! It was one of my favorite places in India and I barely took any photos. I highly recommend this place.
This was the entrance to the fort.
This is one the guides with my camel Raju.
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