It is a true pleasure to just walk in the streets of Jodhpur where surprises (at least to my somewhat naive tourist eyes) are everywhere, amazing colors of the women in sari's, the old men playing cards in the afternoon sun, relatively less intense that old delhi, but still noisy enough to be exciting - mind the camels! etc.
Today i did a tourist day tour of the local outlying villages, but it was tastefully done, the maharajha is supporting these villages and the traditional craft co-ops here to keep people from the city and its associated problems. The driver visits the Bishnoi people, a million stong tribe that lives in the dry deserts between here and Pakistan, founded in the 15th century on the principles of eco-conservation of animals and plants. They even famously sacrificed themselves for the local food producing trees at one time. We tried the local opium tea but i am sure it was very mild and not really good opium, visited weavers and potters etc, had delicious traditional lunch with wholemeal millet chappathi- getting wholemeal in india is a treat because all the tourist restaurants serve horrid white toast. The Bishnoi men wear beautiful turbans and have amazing moustaches, the women have huge gold nose pieces.
In the evening i wander home through the alleyways passing 3 indian weddings (it is wedding season), drummers and tromboneists play a kind of trance like doof, they hire a generator and poor women to carry the mobile lights as the procession winds through the streets. The groom is immaculate in white, garlands of flowers around his neck upon a horse. When i stop to admire the commotion they saw me taking pictures and grabbed me pushing me into the 'mosh pit' of the dancing men that are going nuts with the music, putting a small child on my shoulders, then inviting me to the wedding dinner. Quite an intense experience!!
It rained heavily all night, and was very peaceful (for once the streets emptied and the dogs were silent), today is chill out, wandering the amazing market, revisiting the fort bastions, local food- one of the best thali's ever! and saffron lassi's!!
Jaisalmer tomorrow by morning train-- called the Golden City...and here i am...
Out near the Pakistan border, an army base with a thousand year old fort in the Thar desert. Essentially a tourist bazaar and fort town, but its sense of history is still vital. A camel desert safari seems to be the general tourist thing here. Upon arrival i wander the narrow fort lanes, no rickshaws allowed thankfully, it is serene and peaceful. I found an Ayurvedic massage place here, trained in Kerala they are as close as one gets to the real south indian thing, they do great work on the inner thighs, i think because after camel safari's t hurts there more than anything. Great tibetan food tonight, and my guesthouse is high on the fort walls with amazing views- only the palace in the fort is higher.
I think i am the only person in India without a mobile phone, indians and tourists like all sit at dinner fiddling with their phones, its quite weird. The guy who touts and drives for my guesthouse earns $300 a month and all he wants is to own a phone (2 months wages). Travelling lone gets you many more conversations with locals which is a real pleasure. They call me buddha or full moon on account of my shaved head, but always with a cheeky smile.....
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