dunes outside of Jaisalmer at dusk; a tourist circus with lots of garbage


lake in Jaisalmer, nearly dry


haveli in Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer fort from my hotel roof

watch man

Jain temple in Jaisalmer

this sign is yet another example of why I hate religion

this sculpture is called "emotional woman"
(I am rolling my eyes)

Jaisalmer

I love these paintings

Jaisalmer fort

last photo of Johdpur

I remembered that when I was in Ajmer waiting for my train, I sat down outside to look at my guidebook and behind me there was a man sweeping all the trash in the street into a pile. A moment later I felt a warmth behind me, and he had lit the whole pile on fire right there in front of the station, a few feet away from me. Now, I won't say that I was surprised, because burning trash is normal here, but sometimes this practice still gives me pause. I have said this before, and I may say it again, but the pollution and garbage is my #1 impression and memory of India. The air pollution is horrible, making the air in LA on the worst summer day seem positively healthful in comparison. Yesterday in Johdpur, I walked out of the old town and onto a busier street, and the air was so thick with exhaust fumes that it made me feel ill, and I was forced to turn back toward my hotel.

Yesterday I took a night train to Jaisalmer. The train was overbooked (or something), and there was a family of seven--two girls, two little boys, a young woman, and a mother and father--all sharing two sleeper bunks. I don't know who's fault it was; the father was arguing with his family for a while and then arguing with other men on the train, and then explaining things to the train agent and police, but eventually his wife and kids slept on the floor while he took one of the bunks for himself. Can I say how outragous that is? For about an hour in the beginning before they were all settled, the entire family sat in one bunk across from me and stared at me.

When I arrived at 5 am in Jaisalmer, the touts got on the train and were offering taxis, which is the most aggressive I've seen them get. And then a young kid stuck his head in the window of the train and said that we tourists should all be careful because there were lots of touts in the train station, but that he offered a taxi through blah blah service, and I told him that he obviously didn't know the definition of the word tout because he was one himself, and he got very upset with that. I, thankfully, had already reserved a hotel with pickup from the train station. Jaisalmer is a small, walkable town, and I was able to explore it easily in one day. It is intensely dry here, and all the buildings are sand colored; it is very monochromatic, like sandcastles in the desert. Inside the fort it is 100% tourist shops; there is no real life happening there anymore. The fort in Jaisalmer is one of the most endangered sites in the world due to the pressure of modern plumming and increased water usage inside the fort. Several of the bastions have collapsed since 1993.

My favorite line from a shopkeeper in Jaisalmer: "You want to spend your money?"

I guess it's direct.

The water from the sink in my hotel bathroom flows down the drain and then comes out again through a spout near the floor, onto my foot. I have to step out of the way to avoid it.

If I gave out stickers that said "creep" to every Indian man who came up to me and talked to me on the street, I would have to buy the stickers in bulk. They would never go up to an Indian woman and talk to her on the street, and start asking personal questions.

I ate at a really great local thali (all you can eat) restaurant in Jaisalmer. It was filled with locals at lunchtime, and I was sitting across the table from two men in turbans with long white mustaches who must have eaten ten chapatis each, or more. They seemed utterly unconcerned with me, which was a welcome change, and they concentrated very seriously on their food. They did make some strange noises when I paid my bill, which made me think that my english menu was more expensive than what the locals pay. I don't doubt it.