I've only passed through a simple small town after driving over 100 km.
Rajasthan is the largest of India's 24 states, the size of France, but the least populated with only his 56.4 million. inhabitants out of India's 1.027 trillion. This is because the earth is not as prolific in this very arid area.
The sparse vegetation of small trees change little. I thought there would be less and less vegetation and more and more sand so you could visually see that I came nearer the desert. But there was no major change besides that it got warmer and warmer, so I had to take more and more of my layers on its way.
Pokaran.
40 km. from Jaisalmer, I take a detour into the town Pokaran to see the fort . I was recommended to stay at the only hotel in town, which is housed in a restored beautiful old house from 15 century with balconies. The price of a room is inr 2,000. (50$) so therefore I have chosen not to stay here, because I am trying on this tour to keep my expenses down.
Although I belong to the low-paid artists, I have nevertheless found some money to do this journey that is very healing for my soul.
Jaisalmer-Desert town / Promotion kl.15: 30
Sandy had contacted some friends in Jaisalmer that has a Guest House. So, I was greeted by a young guy at the train station. I followed his MC and soon we arrived at the Hotel Shiva Palace. An excellent room with balcony for 350 inr. / 8 $ with views directly onto a marketplace and close to the Jaisalmer Fort.
Sandsdtone Palace ’Patwa-ki-Haveli’ build by 5 brothers 1800-1860.
For the first time I have taken my sandals on. I walk around in the neighborhood and feel a nice relaxed atmosphere.
Enjoying my dinner at a little exclusive roof restaurant overlooking the street life. Two young musicians have emerged. They bind just their turbans on their 6-10 m. long piece of fabric, as they do a terrific speed. They sing and play the drums with small wooden sticks. Maybe not the best sound but the rhythm is good.
Force preparation.
Before this MC. Journey, I obviously trained my body up to withstand more demanding physical stresses that you autiomatisk encounter during such a journey. So besides my daily hatha yoga workout that keeps my body supple and healthy and counteracts stress and muscular infiltration. The increasing circulation, and affects all the internal organs and your mind.
To cope with this physically arduous journey, I have so daily made various abdominal and back exercises and push-ups to cope with the load in the back and loins and have a little extra brawn to handle a heavy MC. with luggage.
I've also strengthened my wrists, fingers and forearms so they can stand being tense in the same position up to several hours in a row, which is required to keep full throttle.
Since this is my 4 MC. journey, I know a little better about my own physical limitations and what is required of me physically. I am the type who has difficulty finding moderation, but let my will manage my mental and physical limits beyond its breaking point.
If I had been young and more highly trained, I had also pushed myself to the limit and had also been naturally tired in a good way. Feeling that I had pushed myself so far it is possible to approach the goals I have set for myselves is an incredibly positive mental stimulation, I know that the physical body must pay for this with aches and fatigue. My body are trying to balance with the counterweight.
4 February Jaisalmer Fort.
Together with a young 21 year old 'backpackers' from Australia that I had a conversation with at the hotel, we saw the Jaisalmer Fort. His name is David and he intend to make a world trip the next year. Already after 1-month journey, he may well see that he probably will be forced to work along the way, if he will also visit the expensive exclusive part of the world namely Europe.
He is undertaking the trip, I would have wished I had made when I was young. But as a 20 year old I took however a 2-month hitchhiking trip around Europe with my good friend and fellow artist Torben Ebbesen.
Something we did experienced, but I think that such a type of formation trip will provide an invaluable insight and understanding of being human in this new rapidly evolving global world.
David has just completed his first four years of study to become a psychologist and shortcomings so 2 years in practice, which he will take when he has been on this world journey. As a psychologist, it must really be a huge plus, to meet and gain insight into so many different cultures that characterize human behavior. It will make a more spatial in understanding a person's many facets.
5 Feb. 8:30 I'm completely ready to go on a camel safari.
I stand and look out over the city which is slowly waking up and the various merchants sweeping in front of their shop or around their booth. Hotel staff tells me that when there is a great time in mania sweeping with brooms rice, the whole of Jaisalmer enveloped in a fine mist.
Camel Safari.
Here I find myself in the desert, unlike the image I have of a desert in my head. Here there are too many bushes and trees, but it means that we can sit in the shade from the blazing sun.
First we were transported 30 km. out of town in a jeep rumbling, so we got a bit of safari feeling beaten into the body before we reached the camels and our guide. We will probably call them dromedaries, as they have only one hump.
I had luckily brought my camel scarf with me as I am after a few hours kamelridnig in the hot sun could use it to protect my head with. I also had to take the socks in my sandals, because they were getting really good fried.
Besides me and camel guide, there is only one other tourist Nino, who is Italian. He's a few years younger than me. He has been retired and now enjoys, taking on various travels around the world. Unfortunately for him, he has been a kind of stomach flu. At the hotel there were a few other young people who also suffered from stomach problems. They had, however, stayed in India more than 3 months The foreign bacteria can strike a sudden.
1 break and 5-hour camel ride later.
When you have got up on the camel and it slowly rises, is first thrown forward in an orderly jerk and then back, so it is important to hold on tight. When it begins its sailing and shaky time as a rocking ship, one is initially afraid of losing balance, so you cling to tense saddle handle. Slowly you adapt the camel's pace and find balance, so you can relax more.
It has some decent bump being exposed to when you get up in the air and onto the hard saddle for each step it takes. It's like sitting on the back seat of an old Danish model MC.nimbus 1950 without suspension of the rear wheel and on a potholed road.
Such a model I owned in my younger days. With my then very pregnant ex.hustru on the back seat, we tried to induce contractions, by driving in a very potholed road, because with these shocks to accelerate the birth of our son Zabel. We did not think it would work, so it was a little half-hearted attempt unscientific.
At the camel can unfortunately not use the stirrups for the feet, as on a horse. Your feet just will hit the thigh muscles. A stirrup would otherwise be able to mitigate some of the battles you receive on inner thighs and buttocks of each step it takes.
When it set to gallop, you get then really some decent bumps. So after 3-hour ride, you are well sore tail muscles and inner thighs and deserve a break in the shade of a tree.
Kamel guide found dry twigs to the fire and immediately made a cup of hot chai to us. It was luck. Then he started to make a cauliflower soup and baking chapatis. A lovely simple lunch.
Saddle up again and after another 2 1 / 2 hour ride, we arrived at a little sandy desert. A sand dune area of approx. 1x1 km. It recallsRåbjerg Mille, the migrant sand dune in North Jutland.
Before we get right up to this a little more barren area with sanddunes without trees and with a few bushes where we need to beatrenting for the night, our guide again collected dried branches enough for our fire, both for dinner and breakfast.
Tourist.
This Camel Safari did not meet my expectations. I had hoped we came out there where you really could feel the dry lifeless savannah, where the only life is what the drifting sand create. The desert resolve infinity I missed.
On our probably totaling 25-30 km. ride on the camel, we've ridden on as much rock as on sand. We passed several small villages and have always in the horizon, the silhouette of the various poles.
I was lucky to have my friend Sandy from Bilkaner to tell them that I should have a good offer, so I paid approx. 45 $ for those two days with food. Italy transferee had paid 125 $
We are on a Low Budget Camel Safari. It is very worn and dirty blankets and saddles. The camels are not the greatest and most beautiful. Our camel guide is quite nice and speak excellent English.
When the sand dune we have beaten tenant, we can see in the distance that a second group camel tourists have camped. To the right a single woman tourist camped with his camel guide. It is as if they agreed to what area they must each camp.
I've put myself to halfsleep on a blanket, while our guide orders the fire for our evening meal. Suddenly a local show up with a large bundle on his back and offers us a cold beer. Where did he come from! We later saw his camel standing behind some trees at a distance from our camp.
The situation is surreal, you think you are in a commercial movie. You had in your mind build up an illusion that you are far, far away from all civilization. Away from all tourist and city.
The most unruly of the 3 male camels have got tied one of the front leg up so it only can go on the knee on one leg, then they had to halfway lags and crawls away. Next morning had this unruly camel, with one leg tied up moved away quite far from our camp, so the guide had to go out and look for it. The other two had been neatly at the camp.
I could not help but had to get my little laptop up while I was waiting for the dinner. I had to try if I here from the desert could send an e-mail home. My little laptop and my USB modem could not manage to break through the universe and make contact. Instead I use the time to write directly what I feel and think while I was enjoying my freshly brewed chai and rest after a hard exhausting ride.
6:30 pm. the sunset / 7:30 pm. it is absolutely pitch black.
Only the fire from cooking gives little light, so you can see and eat. The simple meal is dhal with onions, rice and chapati. I try to eat only with the help of right hand. The left hand is used for the clocks, for example after using the toilet and to remove dirty shoes.
The female tourist camel guide, come over to our campfire as he knows our guide. We understand from him that she has already gone to sleep for the night. She is recently divorced and want peace to find herself again through yoga and meditation. She has chosen to isolate herselves from the civilian world and she will the next 10 nights, sleep under the open sky in the Rajasthan desert.
After we've eaten all the carpets got spread out and we made us ready for the night. Already we have clothed us with all the clothes we have, for now the wind begins to blow up a bit.
Great to be here under some blankets and look up into the starry firmament. After enjoying this complete relaxation, I can not help but again, I had to write on my computer again.
It's a fantastic feeling to sit here in the desert in front of the glowing screen in the pitch black night and could embody some of the thoughts and emotions you have experienced. I feel like a broadcast news reports from 'Small Talk'.
I get tired quickly in the back, so I must lie down like the others. There actually is not much else to do than to lay down to sleep when it is pitch black. The time is only 21:00, so it's a little early, because I know that the sun first comes up at. 7.00.
The illusion that one is far away from civilization far out in the wilderness under the open sky becomes corrupted, the Tam Tam sounds you can hear in the distance. Safely from a party in the nearby village, where you can glimpse the light off.
The wind and the cold is slowly taking night courses. So you have to dig deep under the blankets to keep the sand and cold out. The sand is very fine and therefore not as lively but hard as a board to lie on.
Middle of the night cabinet I suffered more than I want, so I try in the pitch black night to navigate me to the camel saddles without colliding with the camels, to see if there should be a blanket more. Unfortunately, no.
6 Feb. return march.
7:00 no real sunrise because it is a gray cold overcast morning. This morning we got white toastbread and jam and a hardboiled egg.
The camels are saddled again and we are now moving across the sand dunes, what's a little exciting as some of the dunes are quite steep and the sand is very loose.
After a few kilometers Nino gives up, it's too much for his buttocks and inner thighs, which was sore from the day before. So he decided to walk next to the guide who does not ride on his camel.
I think I should stay up on the camel, because now I was on this camel safari. But I could also cushion the harsh bumps by bending one leg and take the foot up to the crotch in half lotus position.
First at 11 am. the sun slowly broke through and warmed.
Luckily the trip this day was only 3-hour ride, then lunch at 2: 30 pm. we were picked up by a jeep.
I had heard there was a Ayukvedic Massage Clinic, not far from the fort. I found the site and got an appointment immediately. He insisted that I took my panties off. But then you usual get laid a towel over the genitals and buttocks. But there was no towel. As I lay on my stomach and he massaged me, he got too close when he slid along my inner thighs. Then when I had to lie on my back, I took my panties and laid them over my genitals. It slowed him a bit in being too intrusive in his massage, which was otherwise lovely depth probing and really came in and loosened up many of my tension.
I'm already in my thoughts towards the blue city of Jodhpur
Love Bjarne
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