It all started 2 years ago. While sitting ard, sipping Teh 'O' kurang manis ( tea w/o milk less sugar ), we came up with this idea of going for this trip.
Believe it or not we only started planning where to go around 2 months back.First, it was around southeast asia but in the end after talking to a few kind folks from www.sgtravelcafe.com we finally decided to go to Central Asia instead.
Here is the story of our journey.....
Before sunrise everyone was already awake anxiously waiting to see the desert sun rise while Mathan and Malu prepared our breakfast. Me and Ramli didn’t really sleep well cause all night the wind was blowing up the sand in our faces and everywhere.. Our sleeping bags are fill with sand. But still we enjoyed the experience.
breakfast
Our breakfast of boiled egg, bread and jam, cookies and black tea was served. Not forgetting the guava and pears. We filled our stomachs and slowly packed up to get ready to continue with the camel ride.
We sat off about 0730hrs and arrived at our lunch place about 1000hrs. The scenery along the way wasn’t as fantastic as what you would see of the deserts on TV but was good enough. We saw 2 black vultures on the tree sitting on their nest along the way and also 5 deers running across the deserts. Not forgetting the skulls and bones of some dead goats or dears..
looking like a tribal girl
Tribal man?
We rested at the lunch place under a big tree and waited for Mathu and Malu to cooked up our lunch. Lunch was ready about 1 hr later, it was vege curry, rice and chapatti… Seriously I don’t know how they could have the same food throughout the day or even better throughout their life time. But still it tasted very good considering it is cooked from a open kitchen with not much resources.
As we set off early we had 3 hours rests before we set off again to the jeep pick up point. We rested , read our book took a nap while the camels we roaming around eating leaves from the trees nearby. The heat in the noon was unbearable..
At about 1500hrs we set off again thru the desert and honestly I could feel that I had blisters on my ass due to the continuous movement riding on the camel. And worst halfway thru Malu asked if we wanted the camel to run.. I was like run!!?? Everyone else said yes so I had no choice but to hold on!! I could imagine the feeling to ride on a running camel is just like riding on a running horse. And it wasn’t fun for the female chests and ass… I was looking forward for the camel to stop running, finally it stopped but rested only about 10mins and later it started running again.. My goodness..
Finally we arrived at the jeep pick up point at about 1700hrs, got off the camel for the last time. Took photos with the camels and Malu and Mathan. Gave them their tips and sat down to wait for the jeep to come. 15mins later a taxi came and it was for us.
We hoped on and was on our way back to Jaisalmer city and back to the hotel for the long awaited shower as we are all covered with sand..
After the long shower each of us had, we went out to the internet café to book our tickets to Amritsar for the next day. After checking again and again about 15mins we couldn’t get a train either from Jaipur or Jodhpur as all is fully booked and on waiting lists. And they didn’t have a direct train from Jaisalmer to Amritsar thus the only option is for us is to take the train the next day to Delhi and stay for a night at get on the train to Amritsar at 0440hrs the next morning. Of course we were glad to do it cause it gave us a reason to have KFC again!! Wahahahahha
Booked our tickets and went out to find dinner as the guesthouse do not serve meat. Enjoyed our dinner got back to the room and rest for the night.
The Ac 3 tier cabin was good!! They provide clean smelling sheets, blankets and pillow.. Whoa we are in for a treat. We settle in and got to know a Taiwanese married couple in the same cabin as us. The wife spoke to Ramli first in mandarin if he could speak mandarin so I answered for him and we started talking. They have been travelling about 15 days to Nepal and India. Chatted with the wife for a while and doze off into the night. Before we knew it, a man came over to our cabin switched on the lights and said Jaisalmer..I jumped up and wake Ramli and when the Taiwanese couple heard the commotion they also woke up.
They were asking what hotel we will be planning to stay and if we are going for the camel safari. We told them we didn’t plan anything yet so will just go and see what’s os available. And also the nice lady boss at Heaven’s Guesthouse at Jodhpur has arranged for a Sagar guesthouse to pick us up to check the hotel. So we walked together to the main hall of the railway station and as per normal we are greeted by a big group of touts whom already appeared when we were trying to get down the train. We rejected all of them and trying our bests to find the hotel Sagar sign. After looking for awhile it seems that they weren’t there. So we deicded we will go with the Taiwanese couple to check Hotel Paradise as they advised that it is very highly recommended on the travelling websites which they have researched before.
Sunrise from the roof of Hotel Paradise
So off we went 4 of us with our big backpacks all 4 of us squeezed into the small auto rickshaw. After about 10mins we arrived at the gate of the fort and was ushered towards Hotel Paradise which is situated in the fort. We check the rooms available and decided to take one with the balcony and city view, no ac and costs Rp550. The Taiwanese couple was asking the hotel guy about the camel safari and so we listened in. A 2D/1N trip costs Rp900/pax including 1 camel, bed, lunch, dinner and breakfast. We discussed and decided to go for the trip and experience to be able to sleep in the dune in the open. The Taiwanese couple wanted to come back later about evening time as the offer earlier is for the trip that will arrive in Jaisalmer town about 1100hrs and it will costs another Rp150/pax for 2 more hours for camel ride and lunch.Since is only about another SGD5.00 we agreed.
The hotel guy was very nice to allow us to take a shower in the room and rest for 2 hours with no charge. The departure time is 0900hrs so we still have about 2.5hrs to rest. We went upstairs to the roof terrace and enjoyed the sunrise, so far we have not seen such a perfect sunrise like these. The gold, orange sun slowly moving up from the horizon all perfect and round. After a while went to the room to take a shower and had breakfast before we head out for the trip.
We were all so excited as 4 of us have not been to any desert before.. We got into the jeep that brought us to the camel pick up point about 20mins journey. We met the 2 camel man hoped on the camel for the first time. Hoping on was easy but when the camel got up it was like sitting on a roller coaster, you have to hold on tight otherwise you will fall off.
My ride
So our journey began, the first 30mins on the camel was all fun and exciting. But after it was a aching journey for the butt.. Ramli leg cramped and he had to try sit cross legged to make him feel better. We started the ride about 0930hrs and stopped 1.5hrs later and stopped at a big shady tree for lunch. We were excited to see how they are going to cook up our lunch.
the camels free to go for lunch
getting down for lunch
cooking with the very bare essentials
They unloaded everything from the camel and let them go free to enjoy the leaves on the trees but with the front legs tied. They could still move but like models walking on the desert walkway. Looks hilarious to see a 4 legged animal to walked with only 2 legs. We turn our attention to the camels after staring at the camels for about 10mins. Mathu one of the camel man started digging a hole with the metal scoop he have with him. Malu the other guy started looking for wood for fire. They started taking out all the vegetables, flour and the spices for the food. First they boiled the water and cooked chai tea for us. It is so amazing to see what they could do with so little and after about 1hr they served up very tasty chapatti and vegetable curry. But if you see how they cooked up the meal you might not want to eat the food as it isn’t as clean as we “the city people” would expect. But from a open air kitchen what could you expect right. As long we don’t get our stomach upset it is good for us.
During lunch the Taiwanese couple was discussing with the 2 camel man about getting a goat to have it slaughtered fresh and cooked the meat for curry. They asked if we wanted to share the costs of Rp1500 = SGD50 for a goat and we told them that we aren’t mutton lovers so told them they could go ahead with it and our worry is that the meat wont be Halal.. After the couple told the man that they didn’t want to have the goat cause we aren’t sharing, so they asked us why and we told them the reason. And they told us not to worry cause they are able to slaughter the goat halal as they have learned from their muslim friends before. Hmmm we could consider, for me it isn’t so much on eating but the experience of having able to bbq a fresh goat and how they will slaughter it in the desert with so little they have.
local lady getting water
So we agreed and the wife tried her bests to haggle the price to Rp1000 but the 2 man kept telling us that it isn’t possible as they got belongs to the shepherds and not theirs and they don’t earn any commission from it. But the Taiwanese didn’t believe what they say and insisted at Rp1000 and even gave them the money for the goat. Malu didn’t even want to accept the money as he kept saying it isn’t possible at all to have the goat at this price. The wife was very insistent to have the goat at the price she wanted to pay. So she just left the 2 man thinking about it as she told me that she is sure that they will make some money out of it.
But sure enough she was right, they did think hard about it and even made a few phone calls to their shepherd friends to ask for a Rp1000 goat. But only came back to tell us that they could only find a Rp1200 goat which is just small and we need to decide and confirm if we want it cause after they bring it we cant back out. The wife was very happy that they really tried to find a cheaper goat thus agreed to them to have the goat but agreed to pay Rp1500 for a normal size goat instead of a small one. Kekekke the guys must be furious and thinking we are playing a fool with them. We wanted to give Rp750 to share for the goat but they only want to take Rp500 from us..
After the lunch they cleaned up the plates with sand… Wahahahhah Sand!! But it is amazing how clean and shiny the sand could make the plates look. With very minimal water they use to rinse it first and than use the sand to clean up the leftover food. After lunch we rested for a while and than continued our journey to the sand dunes
where we will sleep for the night.
The dunes
Halfway thru the journey Malu had to go and find the goat for dinner. About 2 hrs later we finally arrived at the dunes, it wasn’t what you would expect like those sand dunes you see in pictures of the Sahara desert. It is just a small portion of the Thar Desert with some trees and bushes near it. But still it is a treat for us, we walked around to take pictures, sat in the dunes to enjoy the view and waited for the sun to set. We rested and were curious why Malu isn’t back yet as it is about 2hrs after he left us.
We watch the beautiful desert sun set and finally we saw Malu walking towards us from a distance with the black goat behind him. The goat was “baaing” all the way and when I heard it my heart felt bad that it will be killed in a few mins time. And maybe that is why he is making noises all the way. When he finally arrived at the campsite Mathan asked us to check the goat but I was already far away to avoid the scene as I couldn’t be able to take it and even to eat it if I were to see what will be done to the goat. So Ramli and the husband went over to check things out and Ramli was the only one witnessing the slaughter. He took some photos using the Taiwanese couples camera so I didn’t get to see any pictures.
We left them to do the slaughtering and relax and waited for our dinner to be prepared. As the night got darker we got out our torches to light the way but feel that it will be a waste of the battries and not sure if it will last that long. So we asked Mathu and Malu if we could start our own fire.. It was fun starting up the fire and it is easy as the shrubs and branches in the desert is so dry it caught fire instantly and also it burnt out very fast. We played with the “campfire” for about 15mins and Mathan came over and told us that the goat is ready for us to bbq if we want, so he brought us one leg of the goat with a rusty wire poked thru it so we could hold and both ends to bbq it. We tried for about 15mins and all wanted to give up as it is taking to long and Lide (husband) went over to pass Mathan the goat leg and asked him to cook it instead but Mathan insisted that it will be cook in a while more so pass it back to us … Hahahahahha
the goat leg...
We held it for another 15mins to bbq and finally it was ready to eat. We could smell the nice aroma from the goat leg. We got a plate and tried peeling off the meat but it was difficult as the fire had actually burnt and dried up the meat. So we got a knife and Ramli help cut into pieces. For me not a mutton lover did try a small piece and was amazed by the taste. As it doesn’t taste so “muttony” and the meat is very tender and also very light colored not like the mutton we have back home which is all bloody and dark red. Everyone enjoyed the goat leg and after our dinner was served.
Curry mutton, dhal with rice and chapatti. The curry tasted good and the meat was cooked just nice all tender and sweet. Lide, Yili and Ramli was asking for a 2nd and 3rd serving and for me I couldn’t even finish my first serving and even gave mine to Ramli. I guess it is difficult for me to get over the barrier of eating mutton.. Eveyone enjoyed and finished their dinner and right after the soft drinks that we ordered was delivered. Soft drinks delivered in the desert how convenient…
I was asking Mathan where we will be sleeping at and if in the night we would be all covered with sand as the wind was blowing all day and bring up the sand. He said don’t worry we have beds for you.. I was like really!! Where did you keep it cause we didn’t see it. He said is magic.. *faint
So about 15mins later he seriously got us 4 bed frames with nylon straps tied around to make it the bed.. Like those bed that the Singh security guards would sleep on back in Singapore. Even though there isn’t any mattress we were glad we don’t have to sleep on the floor cause the wind was quite strong. They place the bed just on the sand dunes and laid the thick blankets on it.
We lay on it and watch the beautiful night sky all covered with the million and zillion stars all flickering thru the night. I even caught a glance of a shooting star. The experience was one that we have not experienced before and was glad that we did it!
The checkout time is 0900hrs which was very weird, so we had to wake up early today. Got ready and packed our bags and headed outside. We had breakfast and after checked on the internet if our tickets was confirmed. Still on waiting lists.. Hmmm
Colorful ladies buying slippers
Bangle cart
So we just decided to head out to do some sightseeing and come back later to check again since the train is at 2300hrs. First stop was the clock tower and Sardar Market. It was only 1100hrs when we arrived there so the shops are slowly opening up.. Walked around for a while and asked for directions to the Fort. Climbed up the slightly steep slopes up the fort and arrived about 20mins later.
Fruit Stall
View of the blue city from the fort
We got our tickets and free audio guides and headed into the fort. As we aren’t history buffs we just went with the flow with the audio guides as it is inclusive in the ticket charge of Rp300. Got to know some of the histories about the fort and the Maharajahs that rein the fort before. From the fort we could see the view of the old city, not all blue. But most of them still maintained the Indigo colour as they called it and as the audio said it is to ward of insects.. You could get a very nice view of the city from the fort.
While walking around we met a lot of local tourists whom requested us to take their photos. We guessed they are from the villages and should be amazed with how the digital camera works.. But we were curious to why they wanted their pictures taken when they couldn’t have it. Anyway we just went with the flow..
We finished touring the fort about 1hr later and didn’t know where to go next as the other tourist attractions are Hindu temples or memorial museums which we aren’t really interested in. We decided to go back to the old city and walked around while we look for a Masjid for solat.
After about 30mins walking around we finally found the masjid after getting directions from the locals and a man even ride on this bike and showed us the way. The local people in Jodphur are all very friendly. When they see us walking pass they would just say hello to us and wave… Young or old the same.
Omelette Shop
After solat we headed back to the Clock tower to look for lunch. We saw the Omelette shop which is recommended by the LP so we thought why not just try out. The owner a very friendly man recommended us to have the Masala Cheese Omelette. Ramli had that and I ordered the Spanish Omelette with Potato. We were very skeptical on how good the omelette would turn out to be.. But when we had our first bite, whoa… It is tasty!! Even the drink we had which is a Jodhpur special non alcoholic Fruit Beer is also very tasty. We ordered another 2 more different omelette sandwiches and headed back to the hotel.
As it is still early we decided to take a room just to lepak.. The lady boss let us take back the same room with AC at Rp200 so we agreed and rested while waiting for time to check our tickets again. We took a nap and watched Bride Wars on our laptop and about 1930hrs Ramli went out to checked on our train tickets. He called the helpline and we have confirmed tickets!! Yahoo!! So we will leave Jodhpur tonight at 2300hrs and arrive in Jaisalmer tomorrow 0515hrs.
We went to the rooftop restaurant to have our dinner. Ramli tried the thali meal which consists of 4-5 different kinds of curries and gravies with rice and 2 chapatis and I had veg curry with plain rice. It was good. After dinner went and settle our bill for the hotel and food and rested till about 1030hrs we left for the train station.
We are taking the AC 3 tier cabin for this ride and hopefully it will be as clean as the AC chairs cabin…
Woke up about 1000hrs slowly got ready to check out and visit Hawa Mahal – The Palace of Winds. Got to the internet café to check if our train tickets from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer is confirmed as we were put on waiting lists when we booked 2 days ago.
Got a auto rickshaw for Rp80 to the old City, Ramli was too lazy to haggle so we just took the ride. When we arrive at the gate there was police stopping vehicles from entering the old city. So the rickshaw driver said we can enter from another gate but have to pay a total Rp160 which is 8km away. So we decline the offer and decide to walk into the old city on our own. The traffic was very bad with so many people walking around. We guess it is already holiday as tomorrow is their Independence day that is why there is a big crowd. We walked about 15mins thru the crowded streets and decided we should find a rickshaw to get to Hawa Mahal as it is still a distance. It costs only Rp20 to get there so we hoped on and was amazed at how good and fast the man maneuvered thru the super traffic jam..
Inside Hawa Mahal
Arrived paid the entrance fee of Rp50/each and entered. Hmm first glance of the Palace wasn’t so Wow! Doesn’t look like the one we saw on postcards and on magazines.. hmmm we just walked around and up the palace.. Was amazed how they bothered to make the tiniest window out of wood. 3rd level was the area where the ladies could look thru the tiny windows to watch the life and processions of the city during the Maharajah’s time.
the tinted windows
traffic is really bad in the old town
Blink
We finished touring the palace within 45mins and didn’t know what to do as it is still early. We sat at the ground floor just looking at the local and foreign tourists and we saw some familiar people… A young girl with a red floral print tudong stepped in with a young guy.. As we could see from the way she dresses, they should be from Malaysia. Eventhough we didn’t chat up we felt good to see some familiar people..
We sat down for about 15mins and was quite confuse to why the palace seems to be short of many windows as it is not like what we saw on the postcards… So we thought maybe we should go to the front of the palace and check out.. So we walked to the front and only saw the many windows as per the postcards.. Took some pictures and decided to head back to the hotel to rest and wait for our train at 1705hrs.
taking a breather in the hotel restaurant
paintings on the wall
bye bye Jaipur
Took the auto rickshaw thru the busy honking streets of Old city and arrived at our hotel about 15mins later which was only 1530hrs. Went to the rooftop restaurant to have some snack and drinks while waiting for the train. Time came for us to leave and the hotel guys told us it is only 2 mins walk to the train station so we walked over and the train came at 1710hrs and departed about 1730hrs. We took the AC Chair cabin and shared seats with a local lady in bright orange saree.
Nothing much happen thru the journey except that the lady kept fidgeting and putting her leg up on the chair and gently nudge me a few times.. Hmmmm The train arrived on time at Jodhpur station at 1110hrs.. This station is so crowded with people sleeping around the platforms, bridges, the main entrance hall and even outside… hmmmm
Headed out to get a rickshaw to get to the area where all the guesthouse are. Thought we wanted to walk as from the map it looks like 5 mins away, but the rickshaw driver approached us kept asking us where we wanted to go and said only Rp10 for the ride to the place we wanted to go. So we feel bad that he has been following us for so long thus agreed to take the ride instead of walking. Before we move off a man approach us and ask if we have already make reservations at Govind Guest house.. Ramli just replied yes yes… But still he insists on recommending us his hotel that he said is owned by him and his wife and kept saying is a very nice place and insisted that we will like it once we saw.. It is called Heaven’s Guest house.. So we thought okay maybe for once trust him and the rickshaw brought us over. Ramli check out the room while I look after the bags on the rickshaw.
He came out and said the room is very clean and costs Rp650 with ac but w/o Tv. Since it is about 2330hrs so we agreed to stay in this guesthouse for the night. The lady boss of the hotel was very nice and friendly. Welcomed us to the room and even asked us to go have something to eat at the rooftop restaurant. We went up and was impressed by the view … We could see the Meherangarh Fort from the roof.. We ordered a veg fried rice to share and it is cooked from scratch.. The chef have to cook the rice fresh and it took only about 20mins or less. The chef is from Chitwan, Nepal and came to Rajasthan to work for 6 months now. We saw fireworks about midnight and thought was for Independence day but the chef told us it is for some God’s birthday which they are celebrating at a nearby temple.
Chatted with him a another 5 mins and we got back to the room. The room is very clean and nice. The toilet bowl was elevated on a platform with 2 steps leading to it which looks like a pedestal.. Took a shower and rest for the night..
Our train was at 0605hrs and we almost overslept… Woke up at 0500hrs and was rushing to take shower and do the final packing. Luckily the train station is just across the road about 10mins walk so we didn’t panic.
Checked out and got our way to the train station which was already packed with auto rickshaws honking away and people all rushing to the platforms. We got to platform 2 and waited for our train 2015. About 5 mins later it arrived and we got in to coach C8 and sat at seats 24 & 25 and waited for the departure. About 0615hrs the train departed the station.. We didn’t know that this train did serve diy tea with a small thermos flask of hot water and cookies and later on serve bread and some potato croquettes as we called it. They even provide a bottle of drinking water. Whoa this is a first, but we guess that is why the train tickets is quite expensive.. Rp415/pax which is about SGD12.60 for 303km… But I guess still considered cheap if compared to Singapore.
The train arrived at Jaipur Junction station at about 1130hrs which was supposed to arrive at 1030hrs. As normal Indian timing.. We got out of the station and headed straight to the Auto Rickshaw prepaid counter to get a rickshaw to MI road which is the area where most of the guesthouse are as stated on LP.. And it only costs Rp30, this is the cheapest auto rickshaw ride so far in India.
As normal a guy approached us and even followed us on the rickshaw ride to persuade us to go to the hotel that he is suggesting. We insisted that we go to the Hotel Pearl Palace as recommended on LP and he did ask the rickshaw driver to bring us there. We got down to check on the room and price but they only have non-ac room which costs Rp650 = SGD20 which we thought was quite expensive.. So we didn’t even see the room and went off.. They guy kept persuading us to go to the one that he is suggesting just to view if we don’t like it we can go.. So we were obligated and also worried that if we go to another hotel and if we don’t want it he might ask us to pay more for the rickshaw ride.
So we went and check out Hotel Vaishnavi Guest House, Ramli went and checked while I keep a look out on our bags which is still on the auto rickshaw. He came back and told me the room is clean and costs Rp900/night = SGD28 for a AC room. I was shocked at first as it is quite expensive but he said is just for one night so we took it.. But later did I find out that the room was actually Rp750… He said the price wrongly to me in mandarin as Rp900.. Heheh I guess he still needs to improve on his mandarin.
View of old city
at the Observatory
After checking in we headed out to explore the Old City = Pink City to see the sights.. Got a auto rickshaw and in the end agreed to let him bring us for some city sight seeing for Rp200. First we went to a viewing tower Isarlaat at 145m tall and able to view the entire old city and the nearby forts on the hills nearby. Next was to the City palace which is still occupied by the Maharajah and family.. Nothing much amazing about this place .. Next is the observatory… Hmmm we just went in and got out within 20mins.. The structures were all built to see the stars, future blab la which we don’t understand … hehe Then next was lunch..
The palace
After went to another mini palace that was said to resemble Taj Mahal, Gatore Kii Chatriyan. Ermm but is nothing like the Taj but the hand carvings on the marbles are very intricate.. Left and headed to a textile factory which we were very obligated to go… Bought nothing and left. After to the water Palace which wasn’t as fascinating .. They had camel and elephant rides here… the camels and elephants are all decorated with colorful accessories..
At the mini Taj
The family that wanted to take a pic with us...
Than the driver wanted to bring us to the Gem factory which we insisted we didn’t want to go. He didn’t have any choice so sent us back to the hotel. We rested and had dinner at the roof top restaurant. We went up just in time to see a local puppet show going on …Was nice and windy at the roof.. Finished our dinner and headed back to the room to enjoy the aircon and rested for the night..
