Tuesday, 11 November 2014, Manvar and Jodhpur
Pati and BeeBee had a cold night in the tent at Manvar. Luckily, the bathroom was warmer than the bedroom when it was time to shower. At breakfast in the tent, many people came wearing sweatshirts and one woman even had one of those puffy winter jackets. Wimps. The Americans (Pati and BeeBee) and the British were comfortable enough in shirtsleeves. Pati and the Englishman were able to exchange photographs each took of the other pair riding the camels, using the wifi capability of their cameras.
At 9:50 am, the staff arrived to carry luggage to the truck that would take them to the main resort. It was almost no distance to get back, unlike the trip to the tents yesterday afternoon. The drivers for Pati and BeeBee and for the British couple were waiting, and so they went off in opposite directions, the British to Jaisalmer and the Americans to Jodhpur.
Pati and BeeBee arrived in Jodhpur just before noon and their driver dropped them at Ratan Vilas, promising to be back at 4 pm for the afternoon tour. The guide was not there to meet them, but showed up at 1:30 for the usual meet and greet. Pati and BeeBee had a quick lunch, then rested until 4 pm.
At 4pm, the driver dropped them and the guide in the market in the middle of town. They walked around, with the guide pointing out some of the old architecture, but mostly talking about textile crafts. He introduced them to some buying opportunities, and at the second such stop, the merchant was so dissatisfied with their 400 rupee ($6.40 USD) purchase that he turned off the fan and the lights before the purchase was concluded.
Continuing their walk, they saw the clock tower, which was pretty and kept time. Leaving this, they climbed on the back of a carriage pulled by a horse. The driver and the guide faced forward, while Pati and BeeBee faced backward looking at traffic crowding behind them, on a much narrower seat. Pati got some good pictures. After some time riding inches from traffic without a good handhold on the carriage, BeeBee remarked to Pati, "Where is Deepak [their driver] when we need him? I bet he's right behind us." Pati looked up, and there was Deepak directly behind them in the car. Happy waves were exchanged. Deepak stayed behind the carriage as a buffer between them and the other traffic. After a few more minutes, the carriage stopped, and Pati and BeeBee (and the guide) rode in the car back to the hotel.
Now the reader may have realized by this time that Pati and BeeBee are very pleased with their driver. He will have been their driver for 13 days, having picked them up at the airport in Jaipur, and intending to drop them off at the airport in Udaipur. He has taught himself English, and improved his skills by interacting with those English-speakers that he drives around as an employee of the travel agency. He is an excellent driver, friendly, conscientious, always there when he is needed. Pati and BeeBee are not always pleased with their guides, especially when they try to provide buying opportunities (they get kickbacks). After Deepak dropped them off at the hotel, the guide stayed to query Pati and BeeBee about Deepak. "Is his English good," he wanted to know. They assured him that Deepak's communication skills were excellent. The guide has excellent English, and seemed to want to promote himself by disparaging others with lesser skill. Pati and BeeBee think that how they interact with their driver is none of the guide's business. They think that he must be Brahmin. (Jodhpur, the Blue City, is a Brahmin city.) BeeBee expects that that they will get a lecture about caste tomorrow; every guide that has done this has also self-identified as Brahmin.
Being very full from lunch, Pati and BeeBee had only dessert (custard and fruit) for dinner before heading off for a much-needed night's rest.
Pati and BeeBee had a cold night in the tent at Manvar. Luckily, the bathroom was warmer than the bedroom when it was time to shower. At breakfast in the tent, many people came wearing sweatshirts and one woman even had one of those puffy winter jackets. Wimps. The Americans (Pati and BeeBee) and the British were comfortable enough in shirtsleeves. Pati and the Englishman were able to exchange photographs each took of the other pair riding the camels, using the wifi capability of their cameras.
At 9:50 am, the staff arrived to carry luggage to the truck that would take them to the main resort. It was almost no distance to get back, unlike the trip to the tents yesterday afternoon. The drivers for Pati and BeeBee and for the British couple were waiting, and so they went off in opposite directions, the British to Jaisalmer and the Americans to Jodhpur.
Pati and BeeBee arrived in Jodhpur just before noon and their driver dropped them at Ratan Vilas, promising to be back at 4 pm for the afternoon tour. The guide was not there to meet them, but showed up at 1:30 for the usual meet and greet. Pati and BeeBee had a quick lunch, then rested until 4 pm.
At 4pm, the driver dropped them and the guide in the market in the middle of town. They walked around, with the guide pointing out some of the old architecture, but mostly talking about textile crafts. He introduced them to some buying opportunities, and at the second such stop, the merchant was so dissatisfied with their 400 rupee ($6.40 USD) purchase that he turned off the fan and the lights before the purchase was concluded.
Continuing their walk, they saw the clock tower, which was pretty and kept time. Leaving this, they climbed on the back of a carriage pulled by a horse. The driver and the guide faced forward, while Pati and BeeBee faced backward looking at traffic crowding behind them, on a much narrower seat. Pati got some good pictures. After some time riding inches from traffic without a good handhold on the carriage, BeeBee remarked to Pati, "Where is Deepak [their driver] when we need him? I bet he's right behind us." Pati looked up, and there was Deepak directly behind them in the car. Happy waves were exchanged. Deepak stayed behind the carriage as a buffer between them and the other traffic. After a few more minutes, the carriage stopped, and Pati and BeeBee (and the guide) rode in the car back to the hotel.
Now the reader may have realized by this time that Pati and BeeBee are very pleased with their driver. He will have been their driver for 13 days, having picked them up at the airport in Jaipur, and intending to drop them off at the airport in Udaipur. He has taught himself English, and improved his skills by interacting with those English-speakers that he drives around as an employee of the travel agency. He is an excellent driver, friendly, conscientious, always there when he is needed. Pati and BeeBee are not always pleased with their guides, especially when they try to provide buying opportunities (they get kickbacks). After Deepak dropped them off at the hotel, the guide stayed to query Pati and BeeBee about Deepak. "Is his English good," he wanted to know. They assured him that Deepak's communication skills were excellent. The guide has excellent English, and seemed to want to promote himself by disparaging others with lesser skill. Pati and BeeBee think that how they interact with their driver is none of the guide's business. They think that he must be Brahmin. (Jodhpur, the Blue City, is a Brahmin city.) BeeBee expects that that they will get a lecture about caste tomorrow; every guide that has done this has also self-identified as Brahmin.
Being very full from lunch, Pati and BeeBee had only dessert (custard and fruit) for dinner before heading off for a much-needed night's rest.
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