Saturday, March 30, 2013

2 monuments in Jodhpur, bus ride to Jaisalmer

I visited the Jaswant Thada whote marble monument, and the Ummed Palace before leaving Jodhpur on a 2:30pm busbto Jaisalmer. The rickshaw rides, bus ride, people watching, turban spotting, and problems with hotel staff upon arrival were the most interresting parts of the day.
The more I venture to far flung places, the more people stare, and the worse the men behave...
The bus station in Jodhpur was kusy a dusty side street fillled with blowing dust and trash. I waited 30 for my bus and was told rudely several times to wait in the dark, cell-like office. Instead, I waotes outside with everyone, including women wearing brightly colored saris withatching see-through mesh shawls fully coverimg their faces (which is practical in the dust), and old men going every which way in every color of whipped-topping shaped turban. The Rajput turban is quite fluffy and bulbs out more than the tidy, tightly wrapped Sihk/Punjabi turban. My favorite was a tall man in a black suit, with a whote beard and bright peach colored turban with matching neck scarf.
Everyone on the bus stared at me, including a little girl who cried when she saw me. We stopped at towns along the way where I helped a boy selling popsicles reach the hands and rupees of the passengers in the upper deck of the bus, who along the way, spat out the window only once or twice.
The Lonely Planet warns of in-your-face rickshaw, guesthouse and camel tour peddlers, two of which boarded the bus to harrass me before I could alight, intimidating in the dark (8pm), but harmless. I said "no thank you" loudly 25 times, and a couple bitchy "Don't Follow Me"s. I took a rickshaw to a central square, and said no to offers from the driver and his swarming friends. I walkws into the LP recommendes Fort View Hotel, picked a room (the entire hotel was Shining-esque empty) and ate dinner in the rooftop restaurant with a stunning view of the Fort. I met 2 guys in Jaisalmer for the last 6 month on a hotel management internship, one from Czech Republic and one from Sri Lanka. They manage a very upmarket, new resort just outside the town (and no Mom, they were not able to get me a free room). At 10pm, I turned in, and took a shower. Then I noticed that the frosted window in the shower stall faces the couryard, with stairs and balconies of upper floors across from it. Above the frosted glass was a egular window sreen that was not see-through from my side, nut I wondered if it were see-through from, say, the balcony across and 1 floor above. I put on my PJs and went out to check, and crossed a startled waiter on his way down the stairs to my floor. Asshole peeper! He watched me creep all the way over to the balcony, and asked if everything was ok. I said "yep", went in my room, backed up, left without anyone seeing me, amd stiffed them for my dinner.
I wandered around in the dark with my flashlight ans wet hair, amd found a better hotel with aeveral other guests talking and carrying on in the rooftop restaurant. Several young French tourists, a Canadian and I will do the camel safari camp out tonight. I need to buy a hat!

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