Jaipur to Agra

Dinner Views of the Taj Mahal

Before drifting off to sleep last night we spent a good half hour convincing ourselves to fly back to Australia as soon as possible. We talked ourselves out of Nepal, out of India and into Melbourne. But, overnight, India did what India does best and convinced us otherwise. We slept well in a comfortable bed with comfortable pillows and woke to a surprisingly piping hot shower.

With a fairly relaxed start to the morning and some WiFi we hit the road around 9:00am. We happily avoided the crazy Pink City of Jaipur and detoured through the 'burbs onto National Highway 11.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant and giggled when the English menu, unlike the Hindi menu, mysteriously lacked prices. The food was delicious though...veg pilau, paneer butter masala and a few chapati. We also grabbed a bottle of water from next door, making sure to pay only the maximum retail price, despite the store owner's attempts to charge more. We might actually be getting good at travelling India. Is it possible? Just as we near the end of our trip?

The roads were consistently four lanes and sealed, until we approached Agra, which made for a nice change. And there was a distinct lack of idiots on the road by India's standards. Again...India was doing her thing and convincing us to stay just a little longer.

As we approached Agra the road dropped back to two lanes and the idiots made a small appearance but it was nothing that we couldn't handle. After trusting Tripadvisor's always terrible directions, getting stuck in horrendous traffic and still not finding the homestay we were looking for it was on to plan B...ride to the Taj Mahal and then try to find a hotel as far from the craziness as possible. We went a bit too far away from the craziness though and instead of hotels we saw buffaloes being forced to mate. Returning to town we found Pushp Villa and checked out the room but, as usual, we thought we could do better. As usual though, we returned. We treated ourselves to a 3200 rupee per night room with a showerhead reminiscent of that from this morning. He could we refuse? And when they served us glasses of fanta in the lobby, we were sold.

We checked in, waited for the water to heat up (yes, this was the problem last night only last night they were unable to communicate the fact that each room had its own hot water cylinder and hence needed time to warm up) and showered. Next stop...foot massage. As part of our 3200 rupee deal we had scored an Indian foot massage. Sadly it was just for one person and we didn't think they would take kindly to us asking to have one foot massaged each so, I won out, thanks to generous Chris. While I enjoyed my foot massage, which actually turned into a delightful whole leg massage, Chris bathed and did laundry so when I returned, we were ready to hit the streets of Agra.

Dinner and beers, Agra

We caught glimpses of the Taj from the streets before finding Shanti Lodge's rooftop restaurant where we could enjoy dinner and beers with views of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. And they even had meat! Mutton rogan josh went down a treat as we crossed our fingers that it would help with the constant tiredness we have both been battling. We were served a flat Kingfisher beer that the seemingly stoned waiter happily replaced for us upon request. Team that with another veg pilau and yet more chapati and we were very happy to be in Agra. We were even happy to sit and listen as countless mosques blared the call to prayer because, as the sun set, we knew we were staying out of town where it would be relatively quiet.

 

Pushkar For The Day

Misty Morning, Pushkar Lake

Morning walk

We woke this morning after a surprising good sleep, considering the noise that was going on outside when we went to sleep, so we decided to spend the day in Pushkar rather than move on to Jaipur. We went out in search of breakfast but, because India doesn't seem to do mornings, there was hardly anybody around. We decided to go for a walk instead and enjoy Pushkar at its quietest. Wandering the streets at 8:00am is definitely the nicest time of day. The streets are quiet and the shop keepers are still too drowsy to bother harassing you. After a big loop past some, what we think were, fancy hotels we found the lake. It was stunning with the morning fog still sitting on the water at the far side.

Bathing Ghat, Pushkar

Back at our guest house we decided it had been way to long since we last had our laundry done "properly" so we handed our dirty laundry over to our guesthouse and ordered some breakfast. Masala dosas all 'round. And we were glad we did...best masala dosa of the trip so far.

With full bellies and after a little lay down we once again hit the streets. This time it was a little more beepy and a little more "hello ma'am, come into my shop" but not the worst we have encountered by a long way. Chris wanted to take a holy man's photo but he asked for money. When Chris gave him a few rupees he threw the coins back at us and indicated that he wanted at least ten rupees as we were "rich." We took our coins and he didn't get a darn thing. The people in less touristy places are much happier about having their photos taken. I think next time an Indian asks for a photo with one of us, or snaps one as they walk past, I'll ask for some money and see what happens.

Bathing Ghat, Pushkar

Once we had made it to the far end of the market we rewarded ourselves with two fresh juices. A kiwi and ginger and a pomegranate, lemon and pineapple. A delicious way to get some much needed vitamins. We left the juice shop feeling quite refreshed and headed down to the lake. On the way we spotted Om Shiva which looked like a good lunch spot so we kept it in mind as we continued.

Once we found the lake we sat for a couple of minutes before a man tried giving us a flower to put in to the lake. Expecting that he wanted money we tried to say no but, surprisingly, he happily put them in our hands and walked away without asking for a rupee. We thought that made a nice change from the normal money hungry India we have been exposed to. But it also lulled us into a false sense of security.

Releasing a flower into the holy lake, before the drama

With flowers in hand we started walking around the lake and stopped to let out flower go. We continued further around the bathing ghats and were stopped by Gopal, a boy who wanted to give us flower petals. Encouraged by the nice holy man we encountered earlier we took them and kept walking. Then we were accosted.

The two men started by telling us to take our shoes off. Fair enough we thought...it was a holy lake after all. Despite our protests they also wanted to take us down to the lake so we could drop the flower petals that Gopal had given us in. We would soon discover that friendly Gopal was just part of an elaborate scam. One man took each of us and sat us down so Chris and I were a couple of metres apart...to make our escape more difficult I think. They took to explaining that they were holy men, unlike many impostors in Pushkar and wanted to bless us. Despite being warned by the Lonely Planet that this was usually a scam it was difficult to say no and before we knew it we both had flowers, kum kum powder, rice and a coconut in our hands and a red dot on our foreheads. The priests spoke mantras that we had to repeat and then, of course, they wanted a donation. They explained that Indian people give Indian money and Western people give Western money. They were after 10 or 20 bucks so they could help feed the holy men of Pushkar. I think we've been in India too long, or just long enough, because while Chris and I couldn't hear each other we both gave the holy men a similar spiel about how they should really request this donation prior to dabbing stuff on our unwilling foreheads.

When I told the man I did not want to donate he became agitated, which made me agitated. I found myself venting six weeks worth of frustrations telling him "this is what's wrong with India...blah blah blah." He was displeased to say the least. When Chris had done praying (I wasn't allowed to interrupt while the prayer was happening) we quickly confirmed that we had both been given the same spiel and that we did not want to donate. They then tried to ask for a donation to pay for the flowers etc that had been a part of the ritual. Again, like the man this morning, they were not happy with Chris' offer of less than what they anticipated receiving...fifty rupees each they wanted! I think they soon realised that we were more trouble than we were worth so, after having our blessing revoked and being cursed in Hindi, we went on our way. It's the not telling you that it'll cost you money prior to the happening that continues to annoy us. In hindsight we really should have just thrown the darn flower petals on the ground but our proper upbringing makes us not want to offend, something many people here lack. I guess that's what made us easy targets. Or so they thought.

Although not being hungry quite yet we went back to Om Shiva to sit in the quiet garden and cool down. We enjoyed a vegetarian pizza from a woodfire oven then battled the market again to return to our guesthouse.

We spent most of the afternoon trying to plan out the next portion of our trip and have pretty much decided to get the heck out of India and move on to Nepal sooner rather than later.

Birds over Pushkar Lake at sunset

Sunset rolled around and we went back through the bustling bazaar to grab some sunset shots of the lake. Everybody else in a Pushkar seemed to have the same idea. This worked in our favour though as the touts were so busy harassing the other tourists that we got left alone for the most part. Chris took some photos while I watched a Western girl sell bracelets and blow bubbles before we tackled the bazaar again on the way home. We're getting very good at ignoring people and saying 'no' to small children when they ask to be bought chocolate. We did however purchase some chocolate for ourselves while the beggar boy stood and watched. Gosh we're hard asses.

Sunset over Pushkar Lake

After our friend at the shop downstairs from our guesthouse, Danesh, couldn't provide us with Internet recharges for our phones we gave up and hit our guesthouse up for another delicious dinner. We couldn't resist the malai kofta, naan or veg biriyani from last night but branched out and got a nine veg korma to go with it. We stuffed ourselves silly to the point that Chris lay groaning all over the bed.

Sunset from Hotel Aroma

 

Jaisalmer to Pushkar: 450km

Both Chris and I woke only two or three times during the night which made for a nice change. We had finally got some much needed sleep but were still awake by 6:30am to finish off our packing. My stunning safari hats unfortunately wouldn't fit as I have accumulated so much stuff during this trip. We took one last photo and abandoned the hats as well as a pair of ripped pants. You can tell we're on the home stretch now...ditching weight for Nepal.

Big Red started first go...he was not yet aware what we had in stall for him today. Despite seeing numerous cars being towed out of Jaisalmer upon our arrival a few days ago and worrying that this town in the middle of the desert may have a lack of petrol, we filled Big Red with little trouble. Thank goodness too because then we rode through a whole lot of nothing for some time as we began the trek East.We tried to get some breakfast but the deep fried chillies and deep fried bread just weren't appealing. We continued on despite Chris' hands going numb.

Eventually we found a place to purchase some breakfast snacks...those yummy puffed up fried things with potato mix in them. This time we went all out and got two each and they even threw in a plastic bag of yoghurt for our dipping pleasure. We found a place down the road to do our dipping and were surprised by how much we were enjoying the scrubby desert. Maybe it was the lack of people.

The roads, for the most part, were good for the first part of our journey and we managed a few hundred kilometres before 1pm which got us close to Jodhpur. We bypassed the city, picked a route to Pushkar and hoped for the best. The road deteriorated somewhat so our progress slowed to about 40km/h as we dodged potholes galore.

Again we arrived at another junction where we would need to chose a route. One road was closed so we figured our decision was easy...until I asked a local. Bad idea. Contrary to popular belief, they do not always know better than Google Maps. We were instructed to backtrack slightly then take a turn so we could loop around the blocked off part of the road. We made it back onto the correct road with an extra 10km under our belt and some fresh mud on Big Red.

We came to a railway crossing at one point and, as usual, the gates were down despite the fact that the train would not arrive for another ten minutes or so. We watched as numerous people on motorbikes ducked under the gate and moseyed across the railway tracks. Despite our best efforts to do the same, Big Red was just too tall. Eventually the train did go past. While one may think this would have prompted the railway man to open the gates, he did not. Trucks beeped, more motorbikes ducked under and we waited and waited until finally he decided he'd do some work and open the gates for the rest of us.

The last stretch of road before Pushkar was a national highway which, in comparison to the major district road we had travelled on for much of the day, was a smooth ride. Big Red managed 435km before he began to splutter. Good effort! Chris switched him to the reserve tank and we rode, on the lookout for a petrol station. And we rode and rode and rode. Nothing. 22km later with Big Red almost out of puff we spotted a petrol station in the distance. Thank goodness. After a huge day of riding I doubt either of us would have dealt well with pushing Big Red the final 10km into Pushkar.

We topped up as eight or so men stood around to watch and ask the usual questions...where are you from? Where are you going? Do you think your bike is beautiful?

After seeing more dead animals today than the rest of the trip combined I was happy to be off the road. A dog eating a dead cow is not something I ever wished to have seen. And, after being pushed off the road by buses, trucks and cars four or five times, Chris was happy to be 450km closer to Calcutta. It's just so frustrating when a vehicle pulls out from behind another, sees us, has time to honk and flash their lights but continues to drive at us, knowing full well that a motorbike will never win a game of chicken and that we will be forced into the gravel, or dirt or thorny bushes.

We were so happy to be in Pushkar that we settled on the first guesthouse we looked at after not being able to find the one recommended by TripAdvisor. We passed on the 250 rupee room and settled on the one with the grand bathroom for 500. After some well deserved hot showers it was time for a guesthouse dinner and we hoped and prayed it would be yummier than the bland food more often than not served in touristy places. We were not disappointed. The best Malai Kofta yet, a yummy mixed veg korma, tasty veg biriyani and garlic butter naans to go with it.

We finished the meal we went in search of chocolate but instead found coffee toffee treats for 1 rupee each! How could I say no! As Danesh the shopkeeper told us, they are 10 rupees worth of taste for only 1 rupee. I had to laugh when he asked me if they were to give the local kids or for myself...how generous does he think I am? We got some choc biscuits for Chris and returned home to laze around and digest.

 

Camel Safari Cut Short

Mr Rocket and Johnny Walker

As we went to sleep last night there seemed to be a million stars floating above us, so close that we could probably have reached out and touched them. The moon rose and was a stunning, large, orange circle which took over the sky, blocked out the light of all but the brightest stars, and made us very aware that there were camels hanging out about five metres from where we were sleeping. We had been guaranteed though that the camels wouldn't harass us and, they didn't.

Setting our beds up near the fire though proved to be a mistake. The puppies and their mother came looking for warmth by the fire and instead, found four tourists just waiting to be cuddled. The four of us spent the majority of the night shooing dogs from out of our beds out of fear of catching any one of the things they were probably carrying. We must have all drifted off to sleep simultaneously at one point though, leaving nobody on watch, because I woke up with the mother dog in bed with me.

And the word 'bed' is really used quite loosely in the desert. Really it means 'thin blanket on the sand.' We all had so many blankets on top of us that we could barely move. Combine that with me being inside my silk sleeping bag in an attempt to limit the dung beetles, lice and fleas that could access me during the night and I was in quite a tangle.

A curious Mr Rocket ridden by Chris

Nobody slept well and Chris, more than anyone, was kept awake by the bright moon and puppy harassment. Only we could manage to be kept up by fluffy puppies in the middle of the desert.

As morning came and we finally did get to sleep we were woken by the guides talking loudly while they went about making chai. They had obviously slept quite well as the dogs, probably regular visitors to the camp, knew better than to climb into bed with the Indians. After our horrid sleep, were not about to agree to another night in the desert. Despite their best efforts to convince us to stay, and the offer of a tent, different sand dunes, the guarantee of no puppies and a phone call with the manager back in Jaisalmer we were still over it. We were especially over it when, the half a bottle of whiskey that Seamus had left next to his bed, had disappeared over night. I couldn't help but assume that the guide who had taken a liking to it last night had pocketed it. When we mentioned it he feigned not hearing or not understanding without batting an eyelid. The resolve or a hardened criminal, or something of the like.

We had a few scraps of toast and a banana for breakfast before we all waited around for the guides to get their act together and saddle up the camels. We had gained two extra tourists during sunrise so that meant two extra camels which meant twice as much time waiting.

Stiff and sore from a night on the sand, with our bags and shoes damp from the cold, desert air, we unexcitedly climbed aboard our camels for the final time. And as our legs and butts ached almost instantaneously we were satisfied with our decision to cut short the safari.

After only about half an hour we spotted the jeep up ahead and, when given the opportunity to get in the jeep or continue riding some, every one of us went with the jeep option. We were sore, it was cold, and the whole experience had taken on a laughable quality.

Khaba Fort outside Jaisalmer

On the way back to Jaisalmer we were taken via Khaba Fort. The fort itself looked quite new thanks to what we assume was reconstruction work. The fort overlooked an intriguing, crumbling, ancient city which juxtaposed against the perfectly formed fort. Over 1000 years old (apparently) and abandoned 250 years ago when it was cursed, the collapsing stone work of the old houses was quite mesmerising, as were the peacocks which fluttered around as we watched.

Chris looked, and felt, like death warmed up as we approached Jaisalmer on the bumpy road in the jeep. When we finally arrived back at Trotters we were not in any mood to fight for a refund. Thankfully though, in an attempt to maintain their good TripAvisor rating, we were offered a refund without request. We got a full day's worth of money back, grabbed Big Red, said goodbye to our Scottish mates and went straight back to Oasis hoping we could get the same room as a few nights earlier. While we had no luck getting into our favourite room with the piping hot shower, we got another room and were happy enough.

Before even bothering to shower we went on the hunt for snacks which turned into lunch at a very, very local establishment. Flies swarmed, men stood around and watched us and we ordered up a mixed veg curry, veg biriyani and chapati. We also ended up with a huge naan which prompted us to order yet more curry. A very clever ploy on their behalf we thought.

Back at the guesthouse we braved the luke warm shower then lazed about for a few hours before we were hungry enough to head out again. This time we went in search of Free Tibet, the actual restaurant we had tried to find the other night. They didn't have meat but, despite our iron cravings, we did enjoy some veg momos and a veg pizza before returning home.

 

 

The Camel Safari

Mr Rocket, Chris' camel

We were awake by 5:30am and out the door of Oasis Hotel by 5:50am. We arrived at Trotters on Big Red just as the two Scottish guys we would be safari-ing with (Seamus and Callum) arrived by jeep. After locking up our excess luggage and locking Big Red up safely the four of us climbed into the back of the jeep and were on our way through the quiet yet narrow backstreets of Jaisalmer. We didn't get far though as, in true Indian fashion, our driver decided we should all drink some chai before leaving town. He mustn't have had enough cash for this impromptu splurge though and needed to borrow 10 rupees off Callum. After our quick cups of chai we were back on the road, thankful to be rugged up as the cool desert air blew in through the sides of the jeep.

When we went off road we spotted three camels galloping along happily and were quickly informed that they were to be our camels. Our brows furrowed as we counted one, two, three, four tourists and only three camels. We soon pulled up at 'camp' which was no different to the vast desert we had driven through except that it had the remnants of an old fire.

Soon our camels, and their driver, arrived and we were introduced to Johnnie Walker and Mr Rocket and were happy to learn that there were more camels coming. We sat around a pathetic excuse for a fire until the embers began burning holes in my sarong and we relocated to where our driver had started a better fire and was brewing chai. We took notes as he added powdered milk, water, ginger, some kind of mix from a packet as well as other miscellaneous spices. I think we're missing home when all we could talk about was how we would make chai next time we went camping in Australia. Regardless we enjoyed our chai along with sweet biscuits, poorly cooked toast with jam (spread with a pocket knife that was discreetly cleaned by our driver before being handed over for use) and bananas.

Lauren safari-ing

Two more camels arrived, guided by a thirteen year old boy (is child labour illegal here?) who would be accompanying us. In preparation we sunscreened up and got our new hats out. As I pulled my delightful number from my bag a second hat, a duplicate, dropped onto the dusty ground. I had somehow managed to take two hats instead of one and not notice until now.

Before long we said goodbye to our jeep driver and climbed into the saddles of our newest form of transport. I faced my fear and held on tightly as Johnnie Walker lurched from sitting to standing and then, tied together in a line and guided by our camel driver (on foot) we set off into the Thar Desert.

It was hard on the inner thighs so when we the camels stopped for a drink break and we de-saddled for a few minutes we were pretty happy about it. We took in the sights of the desert, both good and bad, as we progressed. A highlight included huge vultures soaring through the air. A lowlight was the dead cow that we soon discovered they were swarming around.

Chris safari-ing

As we rode we gained two extra camels and one extra Indian camel driver and soon stopped in the shade of a tree for lunch. As we again de-saddled it became evident that the ground was a dry, ploughed field that had hardened into big rocky lumps. The thin blankets we sat on begged the question...is this where we would be sleeping? India being India means that we had no idea of our itinerary whatsoever so we simply sat, waited and killed time by putting words in the camels' mouths as we discussed what they were probably thinking. It seemed that the two camels that had joined our original bunch were bad influences, scrapping with the others and generally leading them astray.

Our pre-lunch snack included cylinder-like prawn cracker things and freshly fried chilli potato chips. While not that delicious, they certainly were moreish. Lunch consisted of vegetable pilau (spiced rice), curried mixed vegetables and chapatti which was impressively made from scratch as we sat and waited. We had a visit from a large herd of goats who pretended they had come to eat the dry muddy ground rather than our delicious lunch and from an old man who seemed to want nothing more than company while he ate. When they all moved on our chefs/drivers/guides must have decided it was nap time. So, while we watched as our hobbled camels managed to venture further and further into the desert, our staff slept.

Johnny Walker, Lauren's camel

The four of us camel connoisseurs enjoyed time swapping crazy India stories that more often than not began with "it was so weird..." After enough napping we decided it was time to get going and, with much prompting, our camel drivers dragged themselves from their slumber and went off on a hunt for our camels. After a three hour lunch none of the camels were visible as they had gone exploring off into their distance so it took some time before any of the men returned with any camels. On India time the camels were returned and loaded back up with supplies for the night ahead. We couldn't help but wonder whether the camels wandering off was a daily occurrence and, if so, why a better strategy for lunch time roaming had not been devised.

Sand Dunes!

We climbed aboard our camels once again and were joined by Frenchman Joe who had been delivered by jeep. Our remote desert experience was being questioned more and more as the day progressed and the fact that we saw motorcycle tour groups zipping by on a nearby road during lunch added to this confusion.

Together we continued through more land which looked more like scrub than quintessential desert. As we crossed through some plant covered dunes the temperature seemed to jump by ten degrees and the number of trees dropped just as dramatically. We were rewarded by our hot ride though when actual sand dunes popped up out of nowhere. Despite having only ridden for about an hour or so after lunch we were happy to disembark and go exploring the dunes. Finally...some photo opportunities that would prove that we had actually visited a desert and not just some regular arid Indian countryside.

Before footprints could ruin the pretty picture of the dunes we set off exploring the ridges and crevasses of these big, yellow dunes.

When we returned to camp it was once again chai time and we squatted as we drank from our metal cups and ate yet more fried snacks. We squatted partly because, thanks to the camel ride, sitting was like hell and partly because there were dung beetles everywhere we looked and they all seemed intent in getting to know us.

Dune Love

Chris loves the dunes

As the sun set we again took a walk through the dunes and were rewarded by venturing some way from camp with stunning views of the clouds changing colour and the sun dropped below the horizon.

Back at camp dinner was almost ready so we huddled around a fire pit in which there was no fire. As an example of true Indian efficiency the fire had not been started and our beds had not been set up. There was a theory floating around that it was a ploy to avoid work in that, as the sun went down, tourists would get into a mad panic and set up their own bedding. Not us though...we all plonked ourselves down to enjoy yet another feed of what was supplied at lunch but this time with added dahl. At least I think that's what it was...it was pretty dark.

As dinner finished up and seeing what we were dong was no longer a necessity the fire was lit. We sat and, in true campfire fashion, ended up scaring ourselves (or Callum and myself at least) by talking about scorpions, snakes, Pakistani desert raiders, ghosts and African murder laws among other joyous subjects.

As we did so out of the darkness came glowing eyes. The eyes approached the fire and, as we sat with bated breath, revealed themselves to belong to...puppies. Yes, wild, fluffy, cute puppies. That may or may not have had fleas, rabies (although there was no frothing of the mouth to be seen) and any other array of desert dog illnesses. Both gosh they were adorable. We went about our campfire business while they went exploring the dunes.

Camping, Great Thar Desert

Before long our chefs returned to the fire, this time with an empty, plastic 4L oil container which we would soon find out was for drumming. They sang. They sang out-of-tune songs in languages we didn't understand and it was not enjoyable in the slightest. When the boy sang in his child-tone it was slightly more bearable but at no point did it even approach the 'mystical camel songs' we had been told to expect. We tried to discourage them with limiting the applause and talking between songs. But, in true Indian 'I'm out to suit myself' fashion we told to be quiet because they wanted to sing. In The Jungle, Country Road, Frerojaka...an interesting repertoire to say the least. Joe, the Frenchman, was lucky and had left early enough to miss this show. Eventually, there was a break in the tunes long enough for us to suggest setting up our beds. With the option of sleeping by the fire or by the camels, we decided on the fire, which had gone out. Of course, the guides didn't have torches and, because they had left it until after dark to be persuaded into making up our beds, and because the kindling they had gathered was insufficient, it was pitch black. Thankfully, we all had torches we could lend them. One of them thanked Chris by putting his torch in their mouth.

Sunset

We convinced them to place our bedding slightly away from the ominous-looking bushes and set up, in a row, near the remnants of the fire and tried not to think about desert raiders or scorpions.

Desert Stars

 

Jodhpur to Jaisalmer

Chris didn't sleep much during the night....he was too busy thinking about where we could go camping when we're back in Australia. Of course! Regardless, we got up reasonable early and trie to get on the road. Our progress was slowed when I wanted to pay our bill, for the second time had to tell them what we ate for dinner and then had to wait around while they scrounged up enough change to give us. For some unknown reason this involved waiting for the owner's wife for twenty minutes only for her to turn up, go to the house next door (on instruction from the owner who had been sitting around the whole time) and grab the appropriate change.

Eventually though we were on the road. Getting out of Jodhpur's old city though proved more difficult than we ever imagined. We snaked our way up hill on narrow paths that ran between the rambling houses. The narrow paths (a couple of feet wide) were cluttered with cows, people and motorbikes, a few of which we managed to take out on our way past. Poor Big Red took a beating as we rouged it up the hill and finally onto the road which would lead us out of the city and most of the way to our destination of desert town, Jaisalmer.

The road turned bad pretty quickly and we crossed our fingers that it wouldn't remain so potholed for the entire 275km. We took a break to grab some breakfast..this time it was a choice of deep fried chillies or some other miscellaneous deep fried delight. We took the mystery food and, realising the entire town had stopped to stare at us, decided to get out of town before we ate. The miscellaneous food ended up being a round bit of pastry, stuffed with spicy potato mix and deep fried until it puffed into a perfect little pillow. Yum.

The road eventually smoothing out onto one big, long, straight road with a whole lot of nothing on either side of it. We were well and truly entering desert country. For the first time in a long time we rode for kilometres without seeing anybody but the odd passing car. Good roads and little traffic...heaven!

When a restaurant popped up in the middle of nowhere we took the opportunity to stop for lunch. Yet another paneer butter masala, veg fried rice and roti. Despite it being around midday it was still chilly as soon as you were in the shade. In fact, as we rode, Chris noticed just one of his hands was cold and realised it was because his body was casting a shadow over it. Desert life.

Jaisalmer Fort

The long, straight road surrounded by scrub was broken up by the occasional sand dune, grazing camel and the remnants of car crashes which, for some unknown reason, seemed to be mostly on the straight stretches of road.

As we approached Jaisalmer, and hence the Pakistani border, the military presence increased significantly with army bases, airforce stations and border patrols. With 15km to go before Jaisalmer we expected the sprawling suburbs that surround Indian cities to unfold toward us. They didn't. We counted down the kilometres and were excited to ride into a relatively calm Jaisalmer. The beautiful fort overlooked the town and the backstreets, on which the guesthouses were located, were not as bustling with touts and Jodhpur. In fact, the people of Jaisalmer have been lovely!

Gate, Jaisalmer Fort

We settled on Oasis Hotel for 550 rupees a night in a quiet backstreet. We dumped our things and went out in search of a camel safari. As we rounded the fort we grew appreciative that we had scored a guesthouse away from the hustle and bustle of the main touristy area. We came across Trotters, who we had read about in the Lonely Planet. They offered us a safari and it sounded darn good. We thought we better think about it though so we went off to give Big Red some much needed attention.

We thankfully found a lovely man at an auto spares shop who spoke enough English to help us organise getting Big Red a wash (the pigeons had used him as a dumping ground last night) and a service. While Chris and the mechanic went off to get Big Red a shower, I sat with our new friend and was even bought a tea made to my specifications (added masala and little sugar). The kind guy who bought it over to me as I reclined at the auto spares place didn't even charge me when I tried to pay later. I sat and learnt about our new friend and his family and he told me a good joke.

It turns out Big Red didn't really like his high pressure shower and wouldn't start. After 10 minutes of fiddling the mechanic got the bike started then processed to rev Big Red a lot. So, when Big Red returned, Chris was looking unimpressed on the back of the bike. The mechanic had also decided that he should be the one to ride Big Red around town. Our helpful auto spares friend got the mechanic to give Big Red a service and sold us some oil. Jaisalmer people are lovely in comparison to elsewhere.

While the mechanic finished off Big Red's service under Chris' watchful eye, I went to make sure we could book a safari for tomorrow. Back at Trotters, Sabu told me that all I needed was money. No passport required for a booking. I went to leave, as money bags was back at the mechanic, when he and A very shiny Big Red pulled up. Apparently, Sabu informed us, in the desert if you're talking/thinking about somebody and they arrive it means long life. Go Chris!

We booked ourselves a two and a half day safari to leave early tomorrow morning and take us into the Thar desert on the most non-touristy route possible, for two nights of sleeping under the stars. Sabu also took this opportunity to offer us a camel in exchange for Big Red. Indian camels too. Apparently they're different to Aussie camels. While this is our best offer yet but we're holding out for at least two camels.

Jaisalmer Fort

We returned to our guesthouse having achieved all we set out to. We showered and went into the fort to have dinner. The inside of the fort is essentially one huge souvenir shop/Western restaurant. We were on the hunt for momos, hopefully of the standard we encountered in Kodaikanal. Heading to Free Tibet, as instructed by Lonely Planet, we somehow ended up at Little Tibet by mistake and didn't realise it until later. We found a spot on the rooftop and watched as the waiters messed up customers' orders left, right and centre. We studied the menu and decided we'd treat ourselves to a hit of protein and get a few mutton dishes. Nope. Apparently there is no mutton around as its so dry. I'm not sure why its on the menu considering they live in the desert and it's always dry but nevermind. We settled on a chicken chowmein, veg momos and sweet and sour veg. We had watched the waiter try and convince another customer that the soup and bread he was bought her was the same as sweet and sour veg so we had to make sure they knew we were after something that wasn't liquid. Confirming our order did little good though as we ended up with sweet and sour chicken and veg chowmein. Chris enjoyed the chicken while I unfortunately took one bite then couldn't stop picturing the chickens in cages I had seen. I stuck to the momos and chowmein which, even with the impressive views of Jaisalmer and the fort walls, did not even compare to those we had in Kodai. Oh, and our lassis came in plastic, disposable (although maybe they get reused here) cups. For future reference, a lemon lassi does not curdle as one would expect but instead tastes of delicious lemon sorbet. Good choice Chris.

We left slightly disheartened and went hat shopping to fill the void dinner had left. Chris got himself a reversible number while I settled on a big, white, floppy, sparkly thing with satin detailing. Nothing says desert safari like sparkles. We wandered home through the dark streets of Jaisalmer with hats on our heads and got compliments from passers by. Yes, the man giving out the compliments was also the one who had been trying to sell us marijuana lassis all afternoon at the legal Bhang shop but hey, a compliment is a compliment right? And when you've been dirty and daggy for months, you'll take 'em when they come.

Chris enjoying my hat

 

Udaipur to Jodhpur

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

A whole six hours sleep without earplugs! That's impressive! Thank you Udaipur!

We got on the road by 8am, despite Big Red having a flat battery and requiring a kick start. With me as navigator we made it out of Udaipur with surprisingly little hassle and onto an uncrowded, nicely sealed road. It took us through landslide-prone gaps that had been carved into mountains and all I could do was imagine the poor people who had to load that stone into trucks by carrying it in buckets on their heads.

We stopped for breakfast and got some chai along with some ridiculously spicy samosas. No, we did not need the extra chilli they served with them.

The road took us winding through a valley which, during monsoon season, we imagined must resemble the hills of Sri Lanka. Boulders lined a would-be river and crevasses in the mountains suggested watererfalls. There were monkeys aplenty too, hanging by the roadside in their family groups.

We found a spot under a beautiful big old tree to consume some snacks that would keep us going until Jodhpur. The chocolate pie that was left over from last night's birthday celebrations was especially delicious.

We came across a large herd of camels as we continued and enjoyed watching them gracefully move around eating leaves from the highest trees.

We took one wrong turn, again thanks to my keen ability as a navigator, and ended up riding a kilometre or two down a dead end road. Normal people would go back and find the correct road. Not us though. Chris found a dirt track heading in the general direction that we wanted to go. We dodged bushes with massive thorns and road through sandy, slippery, dried up river beds until coming to a railway crossing. This crossing had dirt tracks either side and was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There were no actual roads. No people. There was no train coming. But, the gates were down and there were three guys manning the crossing. After getting some directions from the friendly men they opened the railway gate for us using a hand-wound system and off we went again towards Jodhpur.

Old city, Jodhpur

Old city, Jodhpur

Coming into Jodhpur, one could be tricked into thinking the roads would be uncongested and with lanes. But, as we approached the old city, the truth came out. Narrow roads were clogged with markets, Tuk Tuks, motorbikes, people, touts and more. We wove through the streets hoping we were moving at least in the general direction of the accommodation districts as the famous fort towered above us. Jodhpur was hectic. It was loud, crowded and overwhelming. The Tuk Tuk drivers, who are renowned for working on commission here, grabbed at Chris' arm as we rode through the streets and I was tempted, not for the first time in India, to give someone a good whack. I restrained myself and we continued on.

Old city, Jodhpur

We stumbled upon Heaven Guesthouse and I checked it out, but we thought we would try and find somewhere a little quieter. After the relative peace of the rooftops in Udaipur the noise was getting to us. Again we took to the streets. After a few minutes though, and knowing we were only here for one night, we went back to our first choice, as we always end up doing, figuring that surely it would quieten down come night. We failed to take into consideration though the fact that Heaven Guesthouse is located where there is a slight kink in the road. Anywhere else this would this would not be a problem but in India, and in particular in Jodhpur, people beep as they approach a corner often as a substitute for slowing down so the beeping would be consistent throughout the evening.

Old city, Jodpur

Despite originally deciding on the 700 rupee room, we just couldn't say no to the more expensive room a few floors higher that managed to block out at least some of the many noises coming from the streets below.

After showers we went out to explore the old city of Jodhpur on foot. We didn't get far. We bought and enjoyed some overpriced samosas (damn having been charged local prices elsewhere and therefore being aware when we're being overcharged) then went for a very short wander before retreating to the rooftop of Heaven Guesthouse to relax with views of Mehrangarh Fort away from the beeping.

Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, the blue city

We sat for a few hours, doing our good deed for the day and charging a lady's iPad for her as she had checked out already and was just waiting around for a train. Deciding we liked the rooftop (Udaipur must have got into our blood) we stayed put for dinner. We noticed that, like the samosas, the food was overpriced but we figured that the servings would be large. They weren't. We ate the standard veg biriyani, paneer butter masala and chapati. Luckily it was yummy or they would have copped some passive aggressive comments from a hungry Lauren and Chris. We retreated to our room to attempt sleep while the beeping continued outside.

Mehrangarh by night from Heaven Guesthouse

Miscellaneous Observations:

The women's outfits have definitely changed as we've progressed through Rajasthan. The colours have become more vibrant, the nose rings have increased in size and saris are now more skirts and scarves than one full piece of material.

 

Udaipur: Day 2: Chris' Birthday

Rooftop sunrise

Rooftop sunrise

Finally! A sleep that only saw us wake two or three times during the night! And only a couple of barking dogs! We woke up relatively refreshed and ready to celebrate Chris getting old.

As it was still early we ventured up to the rooftop mezzanine day bed armed with blankets to watch the sun rise over Udaipur. We watched as the sky turned orange and wondered how long it would take for the sun to finally come up. Then I spotted a sliver or bright orange. The sun had been rising directly behind a temple and, as such, had been hidden from view. It did come out though, it all its glory, and it was a stunning start to the day.

When it warmed up a little we ordered a big birthday breakfast for the birthday boy. Chocolate pancakes. Except that 'pancakes' in India means one giant pancake/crepe thing, slathered in chocolate and rolled up. Delicious all the same. Our eyes were too big for our bellies though and the fruit, muesli and curd we also ordered only got half eaten.

After doing some much needed laundry we wandered into town on a mission to get me a leather handbag. After pacing the shops yesterday we had a good idea of what we should be paying. After struggling to decide between camel and buffalo leather I was pleased to come across sheep leather. And I was also pleased to know that camels had to die before they could be used as leather...people couldn't just kill them. The beautiful water buffalo on the other hand weren't so lucky. We were infrmed that while the Hindus wouldn't kill them, the Muslims do that, they happily turn them into bags. On Chris' wise advice I settled on sheep leather, deciding that I didn't really need to pay for buffalo leather that would "last a lifetime" when I'd probably be bored of the style soon enough.

As I waited fr my bag to be oiled a darker colour, a leather laptop bag caught the birthday boy's eye. Despite being unsure when he would ever use it, and not owning a laptop, he just couldn't say no...especially when we imagined how amazingly hipster he would look when he combined it with his new shirts, his fixie and the Cafe Racer motorbike he is planning on building.

We bargained hard and definitely scored a bargain getting the two leather bags for 1800 rupees.

The view from Little Prince

After an hour or so spent back at the guesthouse we went out in search of lunch and found Little Prince where we sat and gazed over the lake as we ate pizza and finger chips (fries). We were reminded, thanks to the graffiti, that Udaipur is very proudly the home kof 007 Octopussy. After lunch we again returned to our guesthouse, up the stairs, only to leave again soon after. We were certainly getting a good workout at this place. While we were out I decided to treat myself (on Chris' birthday) and get a massage. I agreed to pay 400 rupees (about $7) for a half hour back and shoulder session. There was a miscommunication though so I ended up with a full body massage but still only paid the 400. Love that!

Birthday beers

I returned to our guesthouse to find Chris enjoying a birthday beer while enjoying our stunning place views. We dragged ourselves away to go and retrieve Chris' tailor made birthday shirts from Little Armani. We even picked up some chocolate birthday cake on our way and got me some sandalwood perfume oil from one of the roadside 'potion shops,' as Chris calls them.

Potion shopping

We found a place called Jasmin for dinner, back over our side of town in the Hanuman Ghat vicinity. We decided to take away our veg chowmein and veg burger but first I had something to do. As we waited for our meal I spotted a girl at a table near ours who looked very familiar. I was sure I recognised her from Sri Lanka. Uppuveli? Kandy? I asked her if she had been in Sri Lanka prior to India and, sure enough, she had. Turns out Jasmine, like us, was travelling from Sri Lanka, through India then on up to Nepal. Like us, she was next heading to Jodpur then Jaisalmer. Like us, she was struggling with India. Like us, she was from Melbourne. In fact, she was from Balwyn, where we are planning on living upon our return. The similarities were all getting a little bit weird. We grabbed her email and returned to our guesthouse rooftop to enjoy our takeaway dinner.

Lake Pichola and City Palace by night

We unfolded our aluminium foil wrapped parcels, Chris grabbed a beer, the sun set and the palaces on the lake put on a stunning display of lights and lasers for Chris' birthday. Very thoughtful of them we thought. It was the perfect end to a perfect final day in Udaipur.

 

Sunset rooftop views

 

Udaipur: Day 1

Thanks to yet more barking dogs we had the fan up stupidly high to try and drown them out. This meant it was cyclonic in our room and Chris took to sleeping with his head in the hood of his silk sleeping bag. It made for an interesting sight to wake up next to.

Rooftop breakfast

As soon as the sun came up our room was flooded with light thanks to transparent curtains so we got up and thought about breakfast. Hoping to have a lazy, relaxing morning we were pleased when the guesthouse man told us they could cook us breakfast here. Perfect. We went up to the mezzanine which sits above the rooftop area and above our bedroom and where day beds have wonderful little Moroccan style tables on them for ease of eating while relaxing.

As we awaited our poached eggs and fruit, muesli and curd we took full advantage of having the place to ourselves, lounging around on the beds while we caught up on posting some blogs. Breakfast arrived and, with views of the Lake Palace, we enjoyed our Western style food. As I perused the Lonely Planet I came across a place called Udai Kothi which, thanks to its distinctive rooftop swimming pool, we realised was the big white building next to ours. Funnily enough, it was also the name of the wifi we had been told the password for. Yep...we think our dodgy little guesthouse was taking full advantage of the strong wifi coming from next door.

We decided to go out for a little wander after breakfast but, having barely slept, I was not in the mood for the narrow streets which were overloaded with hurrying, beeping cars and Tuk Tuks. We got what we needed and went home so I could recharge with a shower.

As I got in, the hot water seemed to wash my stresses away. Or maybe it was the fact that the sound of the water was drowning out the banging and chatter coming from outside. Either way, when the hot water stopped working while I still had shampoo in my hair, my calm quickly dissolved.

Regardless, we figured we should go and embrace Udaipur and check out the very tourist-oriented souvenir shops which lined every road. We went from shop to shop comparing prices and tossing up the benefits of buffalo vs camel leather. Having decided just yesterday that water buffalo are one of my favourite animals, this proved difficult.

Little Armani Tailors

We found an enthusiastic, and very flamboyant by Indian standards, tailor at Little Armani. Needing to weigh up which fabric would best meet our needs we had lunch at Cafe Govindas. The vegetarian pizza went down a treat, as did the mango lassi and hazelnut frappe which was up there with the coffee of home, probably thanks to their gleaming instant coffee machine. We also ordered up a salad, the first in our two months of travelling, after reading that they use bottled water for preparation. The tandoori paneer salad wasn't exactly the refreshing salad we were expecting but it was delicious all the same. Cucumber, capsicum and fried paneer all lathered in a spicy tandoori mayonnaise.

Back at Little Armani Chris chose a couple of out-there paisley fabrics and got measured up for two new dress shirts that would be ready by tomorrow, just in time for his birthday. Worn out by the shopping we came home for a couple of hours of rest before we battled the touts again, going in search of dinner.

Lake Shore Restaurant

We tried to get a couple of sunset photos but after being harassed by some locals decided we'd just get dinner instead. Having heard that all of the rooftop places had the same cuisine we ended up back at Lake Shore. Feeling a bit off I settled with poached eggs, toast, roast potatoes and baked beans while Chris enjoyed a curry and rice. Exhausted we headed home to find our local neighbours having a party. All of the banging and dough making we had heard and seen throughout the day had been for this occasion which we later worked out was because, as Muslims, they would be fasting tomorrow. To kill time before bed we sat on the rooftop and chatted with a lovely family who live in the Blue Mountains and a guy who lives in Goa. We compared notes on India before they went out for dinner and we went to bed. We considered moving to the unlocked room next door which didn't face the party outside but thankfully the noise died down after not too long and we were able to remain in our own bed.