I arrived to Udaipur this evening at 7:30pm after leaving Jodhpur at 8:00am. I had arranged a seat in a car with another group that was staying at Yogi’s in Jodhpur and going the same route as me however when it came time to get in the car it was apparent that someone was going to have to sit with the luggage in the back since there was not enough seats. Since I was the odd man out I got the cozy seat. We made several stops along the way. Once again I can’t recall the name of the temple we stopped at but I can remember the name of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. It was awesome, in the truest sense of the word. The fort has perimeter walls that extend 36 kilometres in length. Claimed to be the longest in the world after “The Great Wall of China”. Over 360 temples are within the fort. We spent a good three hours at the fort, and got back on the road about an hour before sunset. We had about two and half hours left of driving to Udaipur. As the sun was setting the driver started fidgeting with the cars blinkers, high and low beams, and every other button attached to the dashboard. It soon became apparent that the car didn’t have any working headlights. The only thing more intense than driving in India is driving in India at night, and the only thing more intense than that, is doing it without any headlights. I felt like my time was up and that it was simply a matter of a few more turns before I met my maker. Thankfully that didn’t happen and I survived. Although I think I might have lost a few years from the stress.

I did not have a room reserved ahead of time and since Christmas is celebrated EVERYWHERE finding a room was not easy. Fortunately I did find a very small but decent clean room in about an hour of arriving but only for one night. I want to stay here for four days but I think finding a room that I can stay in is going to be very difficult. Tomorrow the search is on for a room with a window and for one that is bigger then I am too.

I arrived yesterday to Jodhpur from Jaisalmer by the way of car and driver that I hired. The drive was about four hours and the landscape mostly consisted of India military bases. One of the sights I passed was India’s nuclear testing facility. I am no stranger to crazy driving in other countries and know what to expect but yesterday I was almost in a head on collision. It was close enough that both the car I was in and the car that we almost hit left some rubber on the road and both came to a complete stop with both car bumpers ending about two feet from each other. We were traveling at about 60 Mph when the driver performed a typical car pass around a huge truck with oncoming traffic. I could see what was about to happen and gripped the dash board shouting “Oh FUCK!” The driver hardly flinched and after getting the car straight on the road turned to me and said, “Don’t worry, no problem.” All I could do was give him a raised eyebrow and respond with a, “Yeah, sure”. It took a good 30 minutes for my heart to return to normal and of course the constant passing of other trucks, dodging of goats, cows, and camels didn’t help either.

Upon arrival to Jodhpur it was apparent that I had left the chill vibe of Jaisalmer and was about to be introduced to the hustle and bustle of Jodhpur. The city is made up of a maze of houses and shops that seem to go on forever and a sea of people, motorbikes, and cows make the maze all the more challenging to navigate.

I am staying at Yogi’s Guest House and have a room facing the Mehrangarh Fort . Jodhpur is also referred to as the Blue City, due to the light blue color of the whitewashed houses surrounding the Mehrangarh Fort . Until I can post some photos of my own, here are some from the web.

After breakfast this morning I hiked up to the Mehrangarh Fort . About a 20 minute walk from Yogi’s. I had received a strong recommendation in Jaisalmer from a couple who had just come from Jodhpur not to miss the the audio tour at the fort. They were right. The audio tour was excellent. After the audio tour I walked around its perimeter and took photos of the Blue City below.

After visiting the fort I walked the maze of the city and easily got lost in its vast assortment of shops. Everything is for sale here and if for some reason they didn’t have it they will make it. In the most obscure alley I stumbled upon a hidden, little shop that had everything one could want for digital photography. I was simply amazed what this shop owner had in his tiny little box of a shop. As I was gazing at the empty boxes of available merchandise he had hanging he saw me with my camera and shouted out, “You need a BP-511?” My jaw hit the cow turd infested street and all I could do was laugh. A BP-511 is a battery that fits my Canon camera and the fact that he could tell what camera I had and the model number of its battery stunned me. I talked to the store owner briefly but the conversation quickley went nowhere since all he wanted to do was sell me something. As I walked away he shouted out a random array of things that I actually could use but already own.

Tomorrow morning I depart for Udaipur.

On December 18th I went on a camel safari in the Thar dessert. I drove with a group of six others in a jeep for about 30 minutes outside of Jaisalmer where we met up with our camels. Upon arrival to the starting point, which is the home of a native tribe who do this particular safari, I witnessed a lamb being born. This happened about two minutes after I stepped out of the jeep. We were invited into the the native Indians huts to see how they live and as I was walking from one hut to another I could see a new born cow calf being licked clean by it’s mother. Frankly the sight of a lamb birth and the sight of a new born cow calf were not pleasant sights. My favorite part actually was when one of the other travelers asked how I could tell the cow had recently been born and I pointed to the placenta hanging out of mother cow. The fellow traveler had the most awesome look of horror on his face.

After our brief tour of the natives lifestyle we mounted our camels and set out into the Thar dessert. We were only on the camels for about an hour and half which was fine by me and then we setup up camp. Actually the guides setup camp and the other tourists and I kicked it on top of a sand dune and watched the sunset. After  sunset we had dinner. It was nothing to get excited about. In fact I consumed a little dessert along with my meal. It was impossible not to. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out around a campfire under the stars while the guides sang songs and asked where we were from, and made fun of previous tourists they had been through the routine with before. When it came time to sleep I tossed and turned in the blankets that were provided, which were stiff and had the lovely smell of camel. I was inside a very small tent that had its door open and about an hour into my tossing and turning I sensed something outside my tent.  I looked at the tent opening and discovered the silhouette of three wild goats poking their heads in and looking at me. Frankly it scared the heck out of me and I made some weird well that hardly scared them off but did get the attention of my fellow tourist friends. The rest of the evening I didn’t get any sleep but I did finally get out of the smelly blankets just before sunrise to witness the dessert awake with amazing color. Despite the lack of sleep and stinky blankets it was  a great experience.

The most surprising part of the camel safari was during our time around the fire when out of nowhere the sound of a cell phone ring was heard. We all looked at each other with surprise and suspicion as to who could be receiving a phone call let alone who dare bring out their cell phone on a camel safari in the middle of nowhere. It turned out that one of the Indians had a cell phone hidden in what seemed to be in his underpants. We where all very shocked to witness him take the call. Very surreal. I had hoped to visit this place before it changed too much but I guess I am late.

Tomorrow I am hiring a car and driver and heading to Jodhpur.

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