Too Much To Be Thankful For...

Thanks to everyone who has sent messages after the Mumbai attacks. Everything here in Udaipur is fine and luckily none of my friends or colleagues were in the area during those few days. Along with the tragic events, the recent holidays have reminded me to be thankful for everything that I have back at home and to be grateful for the opportunity I have in India.

Thanksgiving
Despite getting a bit home sick during the holidays, I was excited last week to get my first visitor in India. My friend Erin flew in from Beijing to spend a week here in Rajasthan. She arrived on Thanksgiving Day and after giving her a brief introduction, we went to a hotel in the city palace for an “authentic Thanksgiving dinner.” This was the first day after the Mumbai attacks and even though I received a call from AIF to stay away from tourist hotspots, I felt that passing on an opportunity for Thanksgiving turkey would be the ultimate sign that the terrorists have won. So to fulfill my patriotic duty, I went to eat dinner. The dinner itself was of no comparison to the home cooked feast that my family was experiencing back in the states, but it was still one of the most memorable meals I am sure to ever have (eating in a palace!).

Jaisalmer - Day 1
After leaving the palace, Erin and I went to catch an overnight bus to Jaisalmer, which is in the western part of Rajasthan. We met up with a couple of other Fellows (Ekta and Natassia) the next morning and explored the old city. Jaisalmer is known as the “golden city” and looks like a giant sandcastle sticking out of the Thar Desert. After exploring spending the day touring the Jaisalmer fort and city palace, we enjoyed a peaceful sunset on the roof of our hotel and prepared for the big day ahead of us.

Jaisalmer - Day 2
We started the next morning on a jeep, which took us to two sites, a ceremonial burial site for maharajas and a small but beautiful Jain temple.

We then traveled a little further out into the desert to meet our new travel companions. My camel was the only female in the group and I am sure it was just a coincidence that she was high-maintenance.



My camel’s name was Mumla (the female protagonist from a famous Indian love story). Mumla was not much of a leader, most of the time we were spent tied to Mohandra (a male camel named after the male protagonist from the love story). My guide, Abhi, was very friendly, spoke a decent amount of English, referred to me as Michael Jackson (presumably the most/only famous “Michael” that he knew), and enjoyed singing a welcome song that has a way of getting stuck in your head even if you don’t understand the meaning.



The trek was quite fun and included a few stops for chai, lunch, and short break at one of the guide’s village. The best part by far was the evening under the stars. I wish that I could share pictures of how beautiful it was to see so many stars, but my camera can do no such justice. I would describe it as amazing, though Ekta felt a better rating would be “better than amazing times infinity.” I’m not sure how to top that.


After dinner, we enjoyed what I like to think of as the Desert Olympics. Along with the four of us were three friends from Australia, a couple of guys from England, and the local guides (obviously from India). We started with a game of agility and flexibility, balancing on one foot while attempting to touch our nose to a bottle on the ground. The only people who were successful besides the guides were the Aussies. The second game included stretching out one hand to place a beer bottle as far as possible while holding oneself up with another beer bottle. It is a bit awkward to describe but I believe Ekta and I were the only ones to finish the task. The third game was standing on one’s head, cycle ones legs upside down, and then stay balanced during some weird leg challenges. The only successful attempt was by the British. With a three way tie, we ended the night with a riveting game of “cow-cow-camel” (same as “duck-duck-goose”).

Jodhpur
After some more time with our camels and our guides, we headed back to Jaisalmer and then to Jodhpur. Jodhpur is known as “the blue city” because of sea of blue houses that fill the landscape. Originally blue was a color to distinguish the Brahmin caste (religious leaders), but today can be used to paint any house. Jodhpur also had a sandcastle-like fort and we spent our day exploring the grounds of this beautiful bastion. Towering above the city, the fort was not only architecturally and culturally remarkable, but provided us with a breathtaking view of Jodhpur and another great sunset.



Erin will be here for the rest of the week and I am hopeful that my work schedule will allow us to explore some more of Udaipur during the weekdays or even take a day-trip outside of the city.