Sardargarh - First Afternoon

Thursday, 13 November 2014, Sardargarh

This morning Pati and BeeBee got up at 6 am for breakfast and departure at 9 am. They had a quick sandwich lunch at a restaurant just off their route at  1:30 and arrived at their hotel, Sardargarh Heritage Hotel (a former palace), about two hours later. The roads they traveled ranged from level limited-access highway to steep single-lane with lower berms. On the way, they saw the exact local train that they will be riding tomorrow. Until 4 pm, when a young couple arrived, they were the only guests in the hotel. The hotel has free wifi that can be accessed in only one courtyard. Pati and BeeBee sat in a large opening in the stone wall to use the internet; the manager brought them cushions. The manager also brought them a dinner menu so that they could pick their meal for 7 pm. By dinnertime, there were 4 more guests, traveling together, from Holland., bringing the guest total (as far as BeeBee knows) to 8.

At 8:30 pm, Pati and BeeBee were picked up for their jeep safari. This involved driving 10 km (6 miles) from the hotel and then going off-road (and on roads that might as well be off-road) looking for wild animals with a searchlight operated by a young man standing on the tailgate of the jeep. They spotted deer (two kinds), 2 owls, 1 rabbit, a family of foxes, a small animal  bigger than a mole but smaller than a hedgehog, and a small herd of camels plus herder. The herder was surprised by the searchlight and had a friendly conversation (long distance) with the young man with the searchlight. The ride was the bumpiest so far in India. The night was cool enough for jackets, for the first time since Shimla. It was pitch black dark and very peaceful. The driver and spotter spoke in low voices only when necessary, and the driver maneuvered the jeep as quietly as possible. The two men had only limited English, reserving their conversation mostly for naming animals. The peace of the night, the darkness, and the late hour made it difficult to stay awake, even with the rough ride. Finally, Pati and BeeBee were returned to the hotel just before midnight.

Setting the alarm clock for an early start tomorrow, they fell into bed, exhausted.

From Pushkar to Khimsar

Wednesday, 5 November 2014, Pushkar and Khimsar

Today was Pati and BeeBee's last day in Pushkar. The camel fair continues for two days, but the camels have mostly left and the religious pilgrims are pouring into the town. They said goodbye to the friends they made during their stay and set off before 10 am with their new driver, who will be with them for the next 13 days.

The roads between Pushkar and Khimsar are mostly rough and disintegrating. At the first town beyond Pushkar, traffic stopped completely for 20 to 30 minutes. The driver thought it was grid lock at intersecting roads, but it really seemed to be one spot in town where buses filled with pilgrims heading to Pushkar had a great deal of difficulty getting through. There was a deep ditch on one side, with large rocks in the road on that side (a common indicator of a road blockage, rather than cones as in the US). On the other side was the corner of a building just at the edge of the road. Buses had difficulty getting past the building without hitting it.  Men at street level, bus driver's assistants who normally ride with the driver, would direct each bus just how to move to get past the building. While their car was waiting to get through, Pati and BeeBee observed at least a dozen large buses in line navigate that corner. Each bus was filled beyond capacity with some riders on top and they were all going to the Pushkar Camel Fair for the last days.

They sped along for about half an hour after getting through that town, only to be stopped at railroad tracks. Their driver told them that the bar goes down one half hour before a train is due through. Luckily, they were only stopped for about 10 minutes.

They finally arrived in Khimsar just before 2 pm and checked into Khimsar Fort hotel, where they will stay the night before continuing tomorrow. They had a quick lunch of sandwiches before setting off on a jeep safari at 4 pm. The jeep had 4 rows of seats, theatre style: the last seat is the highest, and the front seat is the lowest. Passengers in each row of seats could see over the heads of those in the next seat toward the front. There were 9 passengers. The safari lasted 2.5 hours. The driver, in a neat military-style uniform, drove for about a half hour away from the fort, looking from side to side for interesting animals. Then he went off-road for about a half hour, driving through the scrub. Animals seen included black-tailed deer (similar to white-tailed deer at home), some larger deer species, gazelle-like animals, peacock, quail, cows, goats, sheep, and a shepherd. Going back onto paved road, the group also saw a large family in the field picking cotton; the driver stopped, and the cotton pickers and jeep passengers exchanged waves. After another half-hour, the driver stopped at a tall sand dune similar to Kill Devil Hill in the Outer Banks. Ten years ago, the entire area was just sand. Government projects have converted the desert to agricultural land. To show the tourists what the area had looked like, all vegetation is carefully scraped from a few acres.

Two camels with carts were at the roadside of the sand dunes. The group was loaded onto the carts and driven to the base of the sand dune. Then everyone struggled to the top of the sand dune to stools placed at the top to observe a gorgeous sunset. They were served water, coffee and cookies and enjoyed the quiet and beautiful scenery. As it got dark, they went back down the sand dune to the camel carts, then to the jeep, and finally back to the hotel.

Pati and BeeBee sat observing the beautiful pool and lights (which are very near their room) until calling it a night.