6.30 am - Woke up and had a couple cups of tea. Then the kettle stopped working. I removed the wire and kept in my handbag to get it checked later.
8.45 am - Left the hotel to check some places out for breakfast. A few hundred feet on our right we saw Hotel Rawal......there was nobody (because they had just opened) and went upstairs to the rooftop restaurant. It was more like a dhaba place, but the service was excellent and very curteous. We ordered omellettes with buttered toasts and a pot of tea. Everything came together and we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast, feeling very happy with our adventure. Our bill came to Rs 110 plus tip.
Before we went back inside the hotel, we decided to buy a minimum value "Top up" card to add money to our cell phone. The guy did not know how to add the value, so we brought it to the hotel - for some resaon the micro chip was not functioning well, as it did not accept the new card either.
We decided to work on it later, but in the meantime, none of us had a working cell phone.
10.00 am - Sarawan met with us and we wanted to check train tickets from Bikaner to Delhi. Previously we had decided to visit all 32 districts, but problems in Barmer (floods) and logistic inconvenience to the remaining 3 districts made us cut short our trip, and Sarawan Singh suggested we take a train to Delhi from Bikaner and save some driving time.
We went to the Railway station, but there were about 50/60 people in a line and the line did not seem to move at all. So, we decided to try our luck in Bikaner the next day.
Visited GadiSagar Lake and the Fort.
GadiSagar Lake is beautiful, it offers boat rides and is very well maintained. We walked around looking at local vendors trying to sell their craft and performance. There was a little kid dancing to his father and brother's music. It was so enthralling that I could not resist joining this 5 year old kiddo. He was so cute and danced so well. I gave him Rs 20 which made him even happier. He was delighted to see me dancing with him. Pavan took some really nice pictures at that time. This kid was even wearing a colorful pagdi.
At the lake, we found a lot of tourists, made small talk with some tourists from Israel. They said they have come here before and just love Rajasthan. We took their pictures too. One tourist was sunbathing! After the lake, we went to the Fort, which was right by the lake. Again, another massive Fort. We saw a lot of camel leather goods being sold here, like handbags, hats, cowboy style, berets, and caps. I bought one in light tan color for Eric as a souvenier. Just before entering the Fort, we took some really great pictures of a local Rajasthani woman, she had light colored eyes, very attractive. She was a happy and bubbly woman, and delighted in us taking her pictures. She wanted me to buy a pair of anklets from her. I instead gave her some money. She was happy, and asked us to come again.
Inside the Fort, the history of Jaisalmer is recorded very well - of the whole clan of all the Maharajas of Jaisalmer. There are paintings of all Maharajas from the first to the last ruler. There are many different rooms and some even have the original furniture in closed and sealed rooms and one can view the interiors through glass. This does not allow one to get good pictures, but the history is recorded very well. The Fort and the Lake of Jaisalmer are a must for tourists to this area.
Sarawan Singh had left us at the Lake/Fort. He said we could call him or walk back - it was that close. But since we did not know the way, we called the hotel (his cell phone was not working also), and were told that he had gone to eat his lunch. We took a scooter - a three wheeler (paid Rs 15) and returned to the hotel within five minutes.
We also decided to go and eat some lunch before heading out again - this time to the Royal Cenotaphs - Chattries; and the Sam Dunes (pronounced Sum Dunes). We walked in the same direction as the breakfast place and saw a sign for Kababs......hmmmm that was very tempting, but behind the sign there was a vendor selling clothes. Next door, we saw a Khadi Gram store. we thought they may tell us about a decent place to eat. The person there told us to go behind the Khadi Gram to a a place called "Milap Restaurant".....after a few minutes walk, we did see a very small restaurant - no one eating there - but a guy who looked like the owner. There was a sign "Thali for Rs 30 - with rice and 6/7 chappaties only" - "Rs 5 extra for yoghurt". Pavan was not too sure, but since we were recommended this place for pure, vegetarian, good food, we decided to give it a try. We ordered 2 thalis and 2 yoghurts, and a bottle of mineral water. It took a few minutes, but soon, the owner brought out 2 small thalis, with no frills, just daal, curry and 2 vegetables and freshly baked excellent, small chappatis. Either his wife or his mother was making these fresh chappatis, serving us two at a time, they were so good, SO GOOD, that Pavan wanted to come again at night. We had 4 chappatis each, I took a bit of rice for the curry. Excellent, probably the best food we had eaten in Rajasthan. The owners son and a friend of his were very curious by our visit to this small place, and chuckled at any comments we made to them. Very good experience. We paid total Rs 100 (approx $2) for our food, that included the tip.
1.30 pm - When we returned to the Hotel, Sarawan Singh was waiting for us. We told him about Milap Restaurant, he was very impressed at the price of the thali and wanted to check it for himself sometime.
After lunch, we went to an electrician's shop next door to have him look at the kettle wire. After checking, he confirmed that the wire was OK and asked us to bring the kettle - maybe its coil was burnt out. We decided to bring it in the evening again. He did not charge us anything to check it.
1.39 pm - We left for Bada Bagh - the Royal Chattries or Cenotaphs. I am always amazed at the grandeur of all these structures. Rajasthan truly is a haven for photographers (not the weak hearted). Most of the countries do not have 5% of such monuments, but they present their cities, countries in such a manner that tourists flock there. We went to Old Quebec last summer (2006) it is beautiful, just beautiful, and but for a few very old houses which have been turned into restaurants etc. and Château Frontenac - but because they know the tourists needs, it is a paradise and a pleasure to visit there. I wonder how would they market themselves if they had even 5% of the treasures of Rajasthan!
The memory card in my camera was full and needed to be replaced, so Pavan completed the rest fo the phptography and I waited for him in the car. On his way back, Pavan took some pictures of Sarawan Singh so he could upload them on flickr and our blog.
3.18 pm - Went to Anna Sagar l\Lake, another beautiful lake. We have seen so many lakes in Rajasthan and most of them are called Sagar. Took some pictures and left for Sam Dunes which is about 40 kms away here.
3.35 pm - Left Anna Sagar Lake for Sam Dunes.
What we have seen in the photos and the movies are these huge sand dunes which can be seen as far as miles away. When we were about to reach the dunes, we were stopped at regular intervals by the camelriders. They line up ahead and make you sign up with them for a ride. They also start here at a very high price. Since we were not even sure if we wanted to ride a camel, we continued the drive almost till we suddenly came upon the dunes. Sarawan Singh parked the cab (we had to pay a parking fee before we reached here) and we started to go towards the dunes. Too many camelriders came up to us, we were now saying no every minute, which becomes bothersome. Actually, this is the only income these locals have, which is kind of sad, and I think the State Government needs to do something about this problem. We just wanted to walk, shoot pictures and relax on the dunes till we could watch the sunset. But, they were so persistant, wanted to sing for us, dance for us that we became quite restless and after a few minutes of sitting on a dune hill, finally left. We had atleast 5 guys who said their camel was called Michael Jackson!! The first time it was funny. I do feel sorry for them though, it is not their fault, but the tourists should be able to have peace and quiet if they so desire.
The Sam Dunes are absolutely gorgeous, and maybe if we had stayed there and walked up in the early morning hours there would not be so many people. I kept thinking of the movie "Reshma aur shehara" with Waheeda Rehman and Sunil Dutt. You must go and visit, but be prepared to get harrased by the locals.
5.45 pm - Reached Jaisalmer.
Back at the hotel, we rested for a while, uploaded the photos, and around 7 pm, we went back to the electrician's shop. He said the coils was burnt and had to see if he even had one to replace it. While we waited, he had to call his other store or home to see if they had one in stock. We decided to go around and find another kettle - and returned not with a kettle but a heating rod which can be immersed in a cup or steel container. When we returned to his store, he said they had found the replacement ( and was a bit disappointed that we had bought a rod instead of a kettle, as he too had some for sale - not the same kind though). Anyway, it took quite some time for the kettle to be fixed. Meanwhile, we started to chat with him and his brother. We saw a few cows, just standing there, eating anything from the ground. We felt so bad, and could not resist asking him, how come no one was taking care of them, they were even eating paper, plastic. He said the restaurant does give them food, but these cows are left by the owners as they do not produce milk and are more of a burden to the owners, so they just leave them. Another side of Tourist Improvement to consider. No stray cows or dogs.
By the time the kettle was ready, it was past 8 pm. He charged us only Rs 40 (less than a dollar) and when Pavan gave him Rs 50 he insisted on returning Rs 10. We left very impressed at his honesty. We were not yet hungry and knowing we would probably not like to come out again, we bought fresh bread, butter and some tomatoes. Back in the room, we made some tea, viewed the day's photos and before sleeping had some soup and sandwiches.
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