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First stop on what turned out to be a two year trip. Read my trip report from three months in this fascinating country. (1994 to 1995)

India, part 1

Si_lad
2004-03-26 21:22:27

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expensive. The locals have tapped into the steady influx of tourists (especially wealthy package tourists arriving on coaches), and charge excessive amounts for everything.

We returned to Jaipur that day via three cycle rickshaws. The first man was too old and had to give up (much to his embarrassment), and the second one got a puncture.

Jaisalmer Desert Splendour

We took a bus to Jodhpur (8 hours), another large Rajasthan town with a castle, but decided to move onto the desert city of Jaisalmer. We booked tickets on the night train and milled around in Jodhpur for the afternoon until it was time to leave. The station had a comfortable waiting room for foreigners & we ate a really cheap meal at the station restaurant. I think I paid 13Rps for a Thali.

The train was terrific value for money (110Rps each) in the second class sleeper. It was fairly quiet on the train (late 1994 was quiet in India due to the plague scare). We soon settled down into our bunks and prepared into the overnight journey. We chained our backpacks to the metal loops under the benches and laid out our sleeping bags on the ever-so-slightly-padded benches.

The conductor came round to us after an hour or so and checked all the doors were locked. He warned us not to open any doors when the train stopped in the night – not to anyone, no matter what they claimed. Apparently quite a lot of bandits operate along this quiet stretch of railway, so we obeyed his words and soon fell asleep.

We woke early in the morning to find ourselves still moving, and we wondered how long it would be until we arrived in Jaisalmer. A man, wrapper in a shawl, walked into our carriage and asked us if we wanted accommodation when we arrived. He had jumped on the train at the last station (so much for security!) and was touting for business. I admired his style – beating all the other touts who were ...