I had a rough 24 hours or so. I took an ayurvedic
massage in Pushkar that was really interesting, but
alas also really cold. I started getting sick
yesterday, and continued to get more sick in my
overnight busride to Jaisalmer today. Whew it was
cold in that bus! I was in a sleeper, but there was
still a weird breeze coming into my little compartment
every once in awhile. Note to self - no more long
sleeper buses without bathrooms.
But I got in to Jaisalmer at about 8, slept til 1 or
so in the afternoon still cold, baked out in the sun
by the pool (yes, I have a pool here) for awhile, and
finally mustered the energy to walk up the fort for
the first time, where I took the tour of the Fort
Palace.
Jaisalmer is a pretty cool place. It's right on the
border with Pakistan. Harsh desert climate. Like all
of Rajasthan it would seem (except for Pushkar which
is centered around a lake, a lake which formed when
Vishnu dropped a lotus blossom to the earth), it is
centered around a hill fort. This one is unique,
however, in that it is actually inhabited. So it's a
piece of living history. It reminds me of this place
my mother went in Morocco a few years ago, I can't
remember the name. A piece of history, but in a way
caught between the present and past. Up the narrow
cobblestone streets, through old wooden gates, most of
the vehicles that come and go are motorcycles (like
most of India). But alongside that, in the town
squares or walking in almost any direction you go,
there will also be cows. Traipsing around like they
own the place! And in many ways they do.
Anyways, this fort and town were started around the
12th century by the Maharaja (not sure if they called
him that back then) Jaisal. Jaisal (him) - Mer (hill
or mountain). It's been a hindu stronghold more or
less all these years. Interesting thing about
Rajasthani history - they were lead by a warrior
caste, the Rajputs, and these warriors were famously
fierce. So they weren't conquered very often. Except
for by one another. In the end, these guys tended to
"contract out" military services to the powers of the
day (Mughals, British) and in return retain dominion
over their tough-to-conquer desert strongholds.
So I'm gonna hang out here for a few days, catch an
overnight TRAIN back to Delhi on Monday, and then I
fly out on Tuesday night. My adventures are
fading fast. If I had more energy I might ponder the
significance at this point, but I'm still feeling
fluish so I'm instead going to go back to my hotel
room, eat my first meal of the day, watch some cable
tv (I really splurged this time), and go to bed early
so I can look around more tomorrow. I want to get out
to the sand dunes if possible, I want to go to the
Jain temples inside the fort, as well as some of the
mansions (havelis) that have been preserved as
museums.
That's it.
I have to admit I'm getting ready to be home. It's no
fun being sick on the road. Usually in the post-sick
period you get this strange realization though, one of
survival. I survived being sick away from home - what
else is possible??
OK, I digress. No pictures today, internet is slow
and I don't want to hassle.
Adios,
John
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