Day 6 - Jaisalmer

In the morning, we were taken to Sam Sand Dunes. It was Mr. Desert’s plan to show us what we would have missed by going there. Indeed, Sam was like a marketplace, choc-a-bloc with tents and hotels. We were glad we had not been there yesterday night. We decided that once we were back in Jaisalmer, we had to visit Mr. Desert to express our thanks for his hospitality, and indeed we did. He requested us to make an entry in his guest book. It was astounding to see the entries made in perfect Hindi by the two ladies from Bulgaria. We made entries of our own, after which Mr. Desert obliged by posing for a photograph.

Our bus for Udaipur was scheduled for 3:30 PM. It would be a 15-hour ride to the city of lakes. As we sat down for a chai at the bus stand, a little boy started chatting vociferously with the white couple of the adjacent table. A man on the next table found it extremely amusing. “Kyun? Nanhe Jaisalmer banna chahta hai?” “Woh khud ko bechne ki koshish kar raha hai (he’s trying to sell himself to them)”, he addressed us. The kid was trying to sell them a hotel room. He had guts, since the white guy looked formidable, and quite irritated.

The bus ride was right from hell. For a start, I’ve never heard a shadier name for a bus than “Gogadev”. Its looks themselves gave away quite a lot about the bus. There was paint missing from various parts. Climbing into the sleeper compartment, I noticed that the window pane was missing. It would be a horribly cold night ahead for us. Thankfully the assistant assured us that buses would be changed in Jodhpur. 

The new bus at Jodhpur was nothing different - as shady as or shadier than the previous one. But there were window panes – thank god for that! No freezing at night. Most passengers got down at Jodhpur, but there were a few of us carrying on till Udaipur. Among them were Julian and Salomi from France. They were traveling all over North India and were trying their best to learn Hindi. “Aap se milkar bahut khushi hui…” they beamed. I was floored!

So much for window panes! They are not enough to grant you a good night’s sleep. If only the roads were smooth!

Pic(k) of the Day:

The magic carpet...