Day 96 - The View From Above

We spent this morning exploring Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is known as "The Golden City" because it is built entirely of the local golden sandstone. The fort at Jaisalmer is unique in that it is the only continuously occupied fort in Rajasthan. In its heyday, it was home to the rulers, the Brahmin, and the Warrior caste. The Brahmin of Jaisalmer were the educators of the rulers. Today, it is still predominently Brahmin who occupy the fort, though now many of them are tourguides. As our guide told us "For generations my family educated the kings. Today we educate the tourists." The caste system in India is still quite pervasive, though usually it is indicated by local cultural clues that as a Westerner I often cannot read. This was the first time where caste was openly discussed, and with some pride, probably because pretty much everyone in the old quarter is of the highest castes.

Around the fort, Jaisalmer is a maze of narrow streets and winding alleys. Cars, people, motorbikes, and cows all vie for space among the houses and open markets. I wish we had had more time to explore, as it seemed an interesting city to get lost in.

In most of Rajasthan, the Havelis are decorated with paintings. In Jaisalmer, the primary decoration is done by intricate carving an inlay work. we visited one Haveli that had beautiful workmanship, but whose royal occupants have been replaced by flocks of bats. Interestingly enough, at this Haveli and some others around India, it is the sale of bat guano (bat poo) for fertilizer that helps fund the upkeep of the buildings.

Jaisalmer is also the first place we have seen evidence of the earthquakes that often rock India. Many of the Havelis had bowed out walls or cracks in their facades, and in some places they were tumbled down entirely. Where they had been rebuilt, the decoration was far less ornate, and the carving much less delicate. This is in part because the kind of decorative carving one sees in Jaisalmeri Havelies is now very expenseve, but also because now it is just a business for the stonemasons, whereas in the past, it was done as a matter of pride.

After exploring the city, we drove out to a tiny village in the desert, where we met up with a few other tourists, and our camels. This post is titled "The View From Above" both because the fort is perched on a hill, and because camels are TALL. The saddles straddle their humps, which puts one's seat at about 2.5 metres above the ground.

The view of rolling sands, combined with the camels' rolling gait, makes it easy to sea why they are called "the ships of the desert". Cz's guide was a tiny boy. His father is also a camel handler, but the boy likes going out into the desert, so sometimes papa stays home, and the kid takes out the camels. It was amazing watching this boy (he couldn't have been more than 8 or 10, and very small) handling the huge beasts.

After we arrived at our perch in the dunes, the boy took my camel and headed back to the village to collect our camping and dinner things. We took the time to play on the dunes, and watch a spectacular suset. While we frolicked, the other guides built a small fire and cooked chapati (flatbread). As darkness fell, everyone (about eight of us) gathered around the fire to talk in the small circle of light.

Soon after nightfall, the boy returned with the heavily laden camel. Balanced acros Saya's (the Camel's) hump, were two bedframes, dinners for everyone, and, and cold beers. I would say that we were roughing it in the desert, but that would be a big lie. We ate by the light of the moon, and then went to bed under a starry, starry sky. The camp was arranged such that it felt we were all alone int he desert. The milky way was clear across the dark, and there were enough shooting stars to do some proper wishing. It is hard to believe that this much emptiness exists in a country with over a billion people!