Random Indian observations

So after spending a month in India, you'd think I'd have formed some kind of opinion of the place, right? Not even close! I still have absolutely no idea what to think of this sometimes backwards but never boring country, and Indian people are even more of a mystery to me than India itself. I think I'm more confused now than before we came, actually. In the end, I guess it just goes to show that one month is a mere drop in the bucket when faced with such a huge place.

One thing's for sure though, and that's that India is nothing like any place I've been before. Here are a few of the things we witnessed that really had us scratching our heads:

• Waking up on overnight trains to witness both men and women popping a squat on the tracks beside moving trains to take a dump.
• Open air public urinals literally on the sidewalks and streets in Delhi. Wondrous!
• Speaking of toilets, the mind-boggling porcelain squatter. I'll be damned if I'm sitting on it, and standing on it just looks dangerous. Best to just steer clear.

  

  Squat or sit?

• The words "thank you" are apparently not in the Indian vocabulary.
• Neither is "I'm sorry." 
• Neither is "I don't know."
• The adventure that is asking for directions with people that refuse to tell you if they don't know. You can ask 5 people and get 5 different responses sometimes!
• Everything is "no problem"! (Even when there is most certainly a problem.)
• The infamous Indian head bobble. Does it mean yes? Does it mean no?? Does it mean... maybe!?!? I don't think Indian people even know what it means.
• Indians sticking to their story or opinion, even in the face of resolute evidence to the contrary.

• The staring, oh my the staring! We even had some people walking by turn their heads to continue staring after passing us. The only thing I found to be effective at combating this was to stare back.
• You will rarely see Indians laugh, even if prompted. Lots of pan face pictures!
• There are apparently no litter laws in India—people will throw anything away absolutely anywhere. Picking up trash after them will be met by quizzical looks and may be the only way to get them to laugh.

• Absolutely everyone is trying to sell something. Everyone is a salesman.
• The concept of service with a smile is completely lost here. People will do their jobs and whatever is asked of them, all the while voicing total disdain and annoyance with their every motion.
• Negotiations are not complete until the money has changed hands. We've agreed upon a price for a rickshaw ride and hopped in, only to have the driver try to negotiate for more or quibble about the destination en route.
• People on trains and buses will listen to music on their phones, without headphones. No one around seems to mind.
• At tourist attractions, Indian people will come up and ask to take pictures... of you! You also catch some people too scared to ask snapping pictures when they think you aren't looking.

• Couples do not hold hands or show affection in public, but you see guys holding hands everywhere.
• The Indian concept of love is something dreamt up by some Bollywood director. Love as we imagine it doesn't really exist, or at the least has almost nothing to do with marriage.

• Lines generally have no semblance of order to them—people will often cut in front of you if you let them. This is apparently socially acceptable for women in particular.
• As you would expect, their driving manners are much the same. If you leave even an inch, someone will cut in front of or around you.
• Lanes on the road are merely guidelines. Oncoming lanes are fair game if there's room, or if say a herd of cows is camped out on your side of the road.
• There are only two rules in driving: 1) don't hit anything, and 2) don't get hit.

• If you are a cow in India, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Cows can do no wrong.

You too can experience all this and more in lovely India! Did I miss anything? Let me know!

Varanasi: India's religious capital

From Agra and the Taj Mahal, we made a stop in Khajuraho to see the Jain temples of love (pictures here) before winding up in our last stop in India: Varanasi. Like Agra, Varanasi has a reputation for being quite busy with a relentless onslaught of pushy touts. We were warned by many who went before us that it would be a trying experience. When we arrived though, we found it to be one of our more pleasant destinations in India. Two factors go into that: 1) we had already been in India for going on a month at this point, so we were largely immune to pushy guys peddling their wares, and 2) we stayed in Assi Ghat, well to the south of Old Town, where all the pushiness is centered.

Besides that, Varanasi has quite a bit going for it, whether you're just passing through, like us, or looking for a place to stick around in India long-term.

Boating down the Ganga

The Ganga

The big draw to Varanasi is indirectly the same for us as it is for Indians: the Ganges River. Indians flock like holy cows to the river, and we in turn come more or less to watch them. The Ganges, or Ganga as the locals call it, is simultaneously both the holiest river and the unholiest mess in all of India. It is the source of everything, the holiest of holies, the... bath for the local cows and buffalo, the repository for dead bodies and body parts, the emptying point for an overloaded sewerage system, and the dumping point for industrial waste, all in one river. Wow.

It's mind-boggling to us, but Indians have no moral dilemma with the most sacred of rivers being so polluted. How bad is it? Well, Lonely Planet seems to think that it has about 3,000 times the fecal coliform bacteria safe for bathing water. This doesn't keep thousands from coming to the ghats of Varanasi daily to not only wash their clothes and bathe in, but also brush their teeth with, and even drink and bottle the holy waters. To them, a holy river is holy no matter what gets put into it, and they nonchalantly toss spare wrappers and trash into their holy Ganga just as if it were a common toilet. (I think common toilets are actually cleaner, but I digress.)

Varanasi: the religious capital

Praise Shiva for this filth!

Varanasi is like a Hindu Mecca, denoted as one of the seven sacred cities due to its auspicious (Indians love this word) location along the Ganga, the source of life and gods in the Hindu dogma. To Hindus, to die here and have your body or ashes dumped into the sacred Ganga ensures the soul a release from the cycle of its transmigrations.

As if that weren't enough, Varanasi is also the birthplace of Buddhism. It is the last of four sites which Gautama Buddha traversed on his path to enlightenment and home of the site where he gave his first sermon.

The ghats

Dashashwamedh Ghat

The riverfront in Varanasi is lined with 80+ ghats, which are basically stone steps leading down into the river where people gather. There are basically two main kinds of ghats: bathing ghats and burning ghats.

At the bathing ghats, you'll find people on pilgrimages swarming the ghat steps to bathe in the holy waters. It doesn't matter who—men and women, young and old, rich and poor—everyone gets in the mix. The biggest crowds will come out at dawn, usually offering up some kind of prayer and sometimes an offering to the mighty Ganga. The biggest ghat, Dashashwamedh, has a ceremony called Agni Pooja at sundown where Hindu priests make offerings. 

The two burning ghats house a much more solemn scene. These are the places where people send their dead for cremation so that their ashes can become one with the river. Anyone is allowed to view as they delicately place the bodies on the pyres to burn. According to Hindu teachings, small children do not need to have their bodies purified by the flames; their bodies are simply weighed down with stones and put out on the river, ironically further polluting the waters while washing away the sins of mankind. Besides children, other groups which are not burned for various reasons are pregnant women, holy men, snake bite victims, lepers and small pox/chicken pox victims.

The city maze

Woman makes an offering at the ghat

As mentioned previously, the draw in Varanasi is largely centered around the river. I highly recommend not visiting Varanasi in the monsoon season as you will not be able to traverse the city as it was meant—down the river, from ghat to ghat. We only really got to see about 4-5 of the ghats, but if it were the dry season this is how I would've liked to see things.

If you visit in monsoon season like we did, you will be faced with an entirely different challenge: navigating through the maze of small back streets and alleyways of Old Town to get to the ghats. As a word of forewarning though, maps here are just about worthless; even Google throws its hands up at this place. This certainly does have its own charm to it, and even in the dry season I would recommend getting lost here at least once. Take a moment to sit down and smell the roses, or masala chai as it were. Chat up a monk, chase a cow or just have a seat and take it all in—whatever your thing is.

The third option is by river boat, of which there are quite a few. You can't spit without hitting a boat or driver at Dashashwamedh, but given the currents I'd recommend hiring someone down by Assi Ghat to just drop you up by  Manikarnika, the main burning ghat. Depending on your haggling skill and patience, you shouldn't pay more than 100Rp/person per hour for the boats.

Varanasi: the learning center

For the long-termers, Varanasi is also home to a major university, which just so happens to find itself near to Assi Ghat. There’s also supposed to be quite a large Jewish population. Unlike other cities we visited, Varanasi seems to have bunches of foreigners who come here to study Hindi, practice yoga, or simply do some soul searching. It's quite a spiritual place for some—we saw our fair portion of hippie peeps, or whatever they want to be called. (In case you didn't notice, this is not why we were there.)

Whatever your druthers, the presence of longer-term travelers down around Assi Ghat makes for a much more relaxed area with plenty of options for quality food. If you decide to stay up in the Old City, at least take the time to wander around here and hit up a restaurant or cafe.

Our experience

As touched on before, we came to Varanasi at the tail end of the monsoon season and stayed in the Assi Ghat area, a bit removed from the Old City area of twisting roads. The water levels were still too high to walk along the river as we planned, but the boat ride we took at dawn from Assi up to Manikarnika gave a nice view of the ghats.

Dawn is a great time to just sit there and watch the people at the ghats. Everyone that comes to bathe seems to have their own little ritual, and dawn is probably the most crowded time. Each ghat is supposed to have its own thing going, but if you're pressed for time then I'd suggest Assi and Dashashwamedh as the main two not to be missed. Ending the day at Dashashwamedh offers the chance to watch the Agni Pooja ritual as well.

Also be sure to make the time to stop by one of the burning ghats, either the main one up at Manikarnika or the smaller one down at Harishchandra, closer to Assi Ghat. At the burning ghats, there will be priests there which offer to explain things to you or guide you up to a higher point to get a good view, but be certain that they’re not doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. Explanations will be of varying quality, but expect them to look for a donation of at least 100-200Rp for firewood for those families who can’t afford enough for their troubles.

Recommended shops

Blue Lassi

Blueberry lassi

First and foremost: if you only go to one shop in Varanasi, make it Blue Lassi up in front of Manikarnika Ghat. If you don’t know what a lassi is, it’s a usually sweet yogurt drink flavored with your choice of fruits or other flavoring.

Blue Lassi serve up the best lassi either of us have ever had. Now in their third generation since opening, the family that runs Blue Lassi makes their reasonably-priced lassis the traditional way, right before your eyes with fresh ingredients. As they are made to order, expect it to take 10-15 minutes for them to mix it right before your eyes. They have all kinds of flavors. My favorite was chocolate and banana, and Akemi’s was the plain, which the owner topped with a bit of pomegranate. If you ask, he’ll even make you his secret bhang lassi, a traditional flavor laced with bits of marijuana.

All wet and ready for lassis

I think he took pity on us as we arrived there at about 7:30 am—a full hour before they open—as our tour of the ghats got cut short by the rains, which started shortly after we boarded a boat a little after dawn. He put out stools so we could have somewhere to sit out of the rain as he went through his daily rituals to pray for a good day of business. We chatted with him for a while after ordering, and he even gave us some complimentary chai.

The store isn’t much to look at, but they have wi-fi to go with ample seating and big hearts.

Aum Cafe

There were several options present in the Assi Ghat area that are worth stopping by, but if I had to pick one then this would be it. Aum Cafe is a hippie's dream come true—a fully vegetarian menu with nothing but fresh ingredients. 

Everything we had there, from the tea to a rather sizable veggie burrito, was fresh and fabulous. With a nice, bright setting and free wi-fi, the only drawback here was that limited seating and tons of foot traffic may make it hard to stay if you're looking for a place to camp out for the afternoon. Oh yeah, and they close around 4:30 pm or so, so no dinner.

Aum Cafe sits a little out of the way from the main path, but is well worth the trouble to find. From Assi Ghat, go up the steps and past Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe (also a decent option, by the way), and Aum Cafe will be on the right. Alternately, look for signs on the road leading to Assi Ghat, turning right at the big banner hanging over the road.

And there you have it—Varanasi in a nutshell. This was our last stop in India before making the arduous 2-day trek up into Nepal. For more Varanasi pictures, check the Flickr account, and stay tuned for more!

Views of the Taj Mahal: Sunrise and Sunset

Taj Mahal, all alone at sunrise

Agra is a town that lives in infamy—it’s one of the pushiest tourist traps in an already obnoxiously over-the-top nation. I’m convinced they named it Agra because it’s so aggravating. Despite this, it remains a necessary evil for many as it houses arguably the most majestic piece of architecture in the world: the Taj Mahal. A popular destination with Indians and foreigners alike, even the nationals see Agra as a hassle; this goes double—maybe even more—for the rest of us. Regardless, the view is truly magnificent and worth the effort, attestable by the millions who make the trip every year in spite of the hassles.

While some argue that there is no bad view of the Taj, there are a few choice locations that will make for some spectacular views at sunrise and sunset. These are my tips based on our recent trip to Agra.

Accommodations 

First off, I wouldn’t slight anyone who decided that one day of Agra was enough and chose not to even stay a night. We actually considered doing this—sandwiching a day at the Taj in between two overnight trains—but in the end, decided to stay one night. This gave us the time to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and another day, which we spent on a daytrip 40 km down the road to Fatehpur Sikri to see the Mughal ruins there (pictures).

Many will recommend you stay in the Taj Ganj area just south of the Taj Mahal. This isn’t a bad option. A few of the hotels here have rooftop restaurants with impeccable views of the Taj. The best view that we saw was the Saniya Palace Hotel. We watched the sunset here our first night, but I could imagine that the sunrise might even be more spectacular. The hotel next door also has a rooftop restaurant, but is just east enough to have an obstructed view.

As you’ll want to enter the Taj grounds right as the gates open in the morning, personally I recommend staying near the east gate to make things easier. We chose the Hotel Sheela (NOT the Sheela Inn), just a stone’s throw from the east gate, but also considered the Friends Paying Guest House based on location.

Sunrise in the Taj Grounds 

Along the riverside

Use the East Gate. Entering the Taj Mahal grounds first thing at the crack of dawn is both the best view for sunrise and the only way to have an unobstructed view of the Taj. First, some logistics. The Taj Mahal has 3 gates: east, south and west. The south gate is open from 8 am to 5 pm, so it isn’t an option for sunrise. Most people use the west gate in the morning—this is because most people are lazy and apparently like standing in line longer than necessary. The ticket booths are easily accessible on the west side, but the ticket booth for the east gate is a good 1 km down the road. I know, you’re going to have to wake up at like 4:30 am if you want to go get tickets before the gates open at sunrise, but this is the Taj-fricking-Mahal! Sometimes, you just gotta man up.

The eastern ticket booth is a straight shot down the road from the east gate on the right-hand side. They even have an electric shuttle to give you a ride back to the edge of the vehicle-friendly zone, so you only have to walk one way. The gates will open at 6 am for sunrise; I bought our tickets at 5:30 am and wasn’t the first in line, so you might even be able to show up at 5 or 5:15 am. Alternately, you could be smart enough to just buy your tickets beforehand and leisurely saunter over to the gates, snickering at suckers like me. Either way, it’s a good idea to be at the gates and in line before 5:45 am at the East Gate if you want to be at or close to the front of the line, or probably even earlier if you choose the West Gate.

Don’t take unnecessary baggage. When the gates do open—and they’ll take their time, believe me—you’ll have to pass through security after getting your ticket stamped. They’re looking for things like tripods and flashlights. Again, do not bother bringing a flashlight, which is a no-no here despite Lonely Planet and other guidebooks recommending you bring one.

If you have a red flag item, they’ll either slow you down or stop you from entering, so only bring what you need. Your hotel will probably have a full list of things you can’t bring in, so either check with them or online. They say that they’re especially strict with women for whatever reason, so have the guy take things in if it’s an option for you.

First shot!!

Being one of the first ones there in the morning is about the only way to get an unobstructed picture of the Taj Mahal, so strike while the iron is hot. You’ll probably have at least 5-15 minutes before people start trickling down too far past the main gate. You may not appreciate how magical it is to have this place all to yourself until you see the droves of people swarming around later in the day. By 9 am, good luck getting any pictures without other people in them, and more and more Indian tourists will pile in later in the day.

Sunset at Mehtab Bagh 

Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh

Mehtab Bagh is a park directly across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal that was part of the original designs. It is thus perfectly aligned with the Taj and symmetrical, just as with the garden found inside the Taj grounds.

 It’s actually quite a haul to get out to Megtab Bagh at some 12 km from the East Gate, so allow at least 30 minutes from the Taj Ganj area. You can get a cycle rickshaw to take you out there for cheap, but most everyone we talked to that did so felt bad for the guy by the end of the trip and wound up paying just as much if not more than we paid for an auto-rickshaw out there. It’s one hellacious trip to cycle with 2 people in tow. Pay the driver for the roundtrip, and don’t let them try to charge you extra to wait. We paid 300 Rs for an auto-rickshaw for the latter half of the day, combining stops at Itimad-ud-Daulah, or Baby Taj (pictures), and Chini-ka-Rauza. You could probably skip on the latter, but the Baby Taj is worth seeing.

Park entrance at Mehtab Bagh is a cool 100 Rs/person. If you’re stingy, you can just walk down the edge of the park and have basically the same view, albeit from a limited angle. Really though, I know this is sacrilegious to the traveler mentality, but at the end of the day it’s only $2. Just cough it up, the view’s worth it. Being on the other side makes it good for sunsets.

Other options 

The best morning view is from inside the Taj grounds, but I can think of two possible alternatives that could look nice at sunrise or sunset. They won’t be as up close and personal, but they will certainly be more leisurely. First would be the rooftop restaurants mentioned before. Instead of worrying about why the guard can't just hurry up and open the damn gate, you can enjoy your Taj over tea and strumpets (ok, so maybe they're not that kind of restaurant). The other would be from Agra Fort; if you have a nice zoom lens, the angles should be great. For another sunset option, you could walk out the East Gate and down to the riverside and rent a boat. I hear it should cost about 100 Rs, but we didn't try.

Agra can be a bit overwhelming, especially If this is your first time to India. I wouldn’t really suggest hitting it up first thing after flying into Delhi, for example. We did it after roaming around Rajasthan for a couple weeks, which gave us the time to get a little acclimated to the Indian way of doing things. Don’t let the touts get to you as they can be relentless—if you’re playful and upbeat enough, it can make turning them away amicably and gracefully that much easier. As one pointer, kids don’t like it when you ask them for pens and rupees.

So for Agra, basically just get in, get out, and enjoy the rest of the country! I'll close with a few more of my own shots of the Taj Mahal. For the full album, go here.

Minarets and spires just before dusk sets

Inside of one of the mosque domes

The 3 themes of the Taj: spires, Sanskrit and floral patterns

Jodhpur: The Blue City

The Blue City

After staying an unplanned extra night in Khuri writhing in pain, our time in Jaisalmer was curtailed to a mere afternoon—this was really a shame as it seemed worth at least a night’s stay. We had already bought train tickets though, so we chose to stay on schedule and move on to Jodhpur, the Blue City.
Note to prospective India travelers: don’t buy train tickets anymore than 2-3 days in advance if you can help it as shit will happen... quite literally sometimes, in India’s case.

Once in Jodhpur, we decided to slow down the pace of our schedule a bit to catch our breath, extending our planned 2-night stop into a whole 6 nights. Our first impressions were that, much unlike any place we had experienced to date (certainly in stark contrast to Delhi), some people here would actually just say “hello” without asking for anything or trying to drag you into their shop! In our time, we also ran across several people who were more than willing to treat you to a cup of chai or something and offer up advice, even if it didn’t benefit them. The touts for the most part also knew the meaning of the word “no,” another novelty to us at this point. You felt like you could actually trust people here.

In all honesty, you could probably see all the sights in both Jaisalmer and Jodhpur given a full day in each, but we found people in both that could justify staying longer. Jodhpur is a little bigger though, and had a little better variety in terms of restaurants from what we saw.

The Blue City 

First, some info on Jodhpur. It’s nicknamed the Blue City for a reason: half the houses are blue! Blue is the color of the Brahmin, the priest caste in the caste system. Once upon a time, the priests of Jodhpur all painted their houses blue to distinguish themselves, but then slowly others started to follow suit. Pretty soon, we had what you see today—a sea of blue houses with bits of pink, yellow and other colors spackled in between.

The indigo paint used to achieve this affect is also supposed to help keep the houses cool and fend off mosquitoes, but one look at my legs after a week here tell a different story. Either way, it makes for a truly spectacular view from the rooftops or the fort.

Many of the guest houses and hotels in town have their own rooftop restaurants, giving great views overlooking both the blue cityscape and Jodhpur’s iconic Mehrangarh Fort, coincidentally used in filming the Dark Knight Rises.

Now, without further ado, our highlights and recommendations.

Pushp Paying Guest House 

View from Pushp
rooftop restaurant

This small, family-owned establishment served as our base of operations for 6 nights. It currently has 5 rooms, but the owner did speak of possible future expansion given their recent success. Looking back on it, I would still say that this was our nicest room in our month’s time in India, even at a modest 400Rp/night (standard price of 450Rp, discounted for the extended stay).

Very clean, great facilities, and decorum matching the blue theme of the town. With a lounge area on the 3rd floor and a sizeable rooftop restaurant, there was plenty of space to relax and chat with other travelers, an activity which we did quite a bit of. And best of all, the owner is easy to talk to and honest to a fault; his whole family is rather down to earth as well. The restaurant menu is decent, and they’ll even serve up non-veg dishes or beer upon request.

You really can’t go wrong with this place—as long as they have a room open, that is. Pushp is not exactly the easiest place to find—if your rickshaw driver feigns ignorance, tell them to aim for the Discovery Guest House, then take the next left. From here, watch the walls for "Pushp" written in blue with arrows to direct you. When we were there, one of the signs only had a big “PU” with the rest smudged out—go right here.

If Pushp is full, another couple recommended the Blue House Guest House, although they warned that it was a bit pricey.

Jharokha Restaurant 

The fort at night from Jharokha

One of the many rooftop restaurants in town, Jharokha gets our nod of approval for offering more than just a great view. First, they have a Rajasthani specialty that we had been on the lookout for ever since hearing about it: dal baati churma. In place of naan or roti, this dish offers hard little wheat rolls called baati and a sweet concoction called churma to dip and mix with the standard dal (bean) curry. After 2 weeks of mostly curry, churma tasted enough like cornbread to put me into a gastronomical bliss.

Not on the menu is Jharokha’s great ambiance. The lighting is romantically dim, and they were the only place in town we saw to come with live entertainment, including a band and traditional dancers.

To find Jharokha, start at the clock tower and take a left from the north market exit, then a right at the first main street. You’ll see signs for Jharokha on the right.

On the Rocks

Meat!!

On the Rocks is well-known amongst locals as a bastion of meat and alcohol. While a little pricey and not the most convenient place in town—you’ll need to pay about 60Rp for an auto-rickshaw from the south of the clock tower halfway to the pink palace—a trip to On the Rocks will reward you with some delicious dishes and a good (for India) selection of beers and liquors.

Still, the draw to me has to be that this place also runs a bar and mini club! Show up on the weekends, and you’ll be given the chance to dance it up Indian style with some of the more well-to-do about town. I was mildly disappointed that there were no Bollywood-style line dances, but oh well.

Our guest house suggested getting a ride back by 11 pm, as this is about the time the auto-rickshaws for the ride back start getting scarce.

If you’re hankering for some classy meat and beer but don’t feel like taking a ride, you can head over to Indique, just north of the clock tower at the Hotel Pal Haveli instead.

Chouhan Omelette

Vicky, the omelette guy

Just north of the clock tower in the center of town, there are two dueling omelette shops. One is in Lonely Planet, while the other is listed in Chikyu no Arukikata, its Japanese counterpart. While I’m sure they’re both worth a visit, we stopped by the one on the west side of the north gate, run by one Vicky Chouhan.

Vicky’s meager stand can hardly be called a restaurant. Upon taking your order, he’ll give you plastic stools to sit on and serve as a table. The omelettes themselves, usually served up as sandwiches, make a great snack or breakfast.

Upon perusing the menu, however, the immediate oddball to me was his fried boiled egg. How can it be both, you ask? Well, first he boils the egg, then he cuts it in half and fries it, finally topping it with a generous serving of everyone’s favorite mystery spice: masala. Delish!

While I feel I must preface this statement by saying it might be a seasonal thing, there was one drawback of these stands for us: flies. They’re everywhere and don’t exactly make you want to stick around for very long. There are supposedly much fewer flies in the dry months, but during monsoon season it bears noting.

Mehrangarh Fort

Jaswant Thada from the fort

If you only have one day in Jodhpur, or even only a few hours, this is the one sight that can’t be missed—literally. Located up on a bluff towering some 400 feet (122 meters) above town, you can see it from just about any point in Jodhpur. I’d also go as far to say that if you only have the time to see one fort in India, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. A walk up the hill from town to the fort gates will serve to likely demonstrate why this is the only fort in India never to be taken by force.

While the fort provides the backdrop for all the rooftop restaurants—both night and day thanks to a bit of strategic lighting on the hill—the best view in town is without a doubt from the top of the fort itself. From this vantage point, you have panoramic views of the Blue City and Jaswant Thada—that white mausoleum off to the right that looks like a fairy tale palace.

Besides the view, the fort itself is worth a few hours to take in. I recommend getting the audio guide, which comes free with your entry pass and a deposit of either you passport, a credit card or 2000Rps. An affordable and informative alternative to paid guides, we found similar audio guides either for free or 100 rupees in Jaisalmer, Agra and Kajuraho. Keep an eye out for them at any main attraction.

Just a short 1 km walk down the road from the fort is the aforementioned Jaswant Thada. It’s close, cheap and worth a visit after seeing the fort if you have the time.

To get to Mehranghar Fort you have two options: by foot or by auto-rickshaw. By foot, just walk towards the fort, asking people along the way if you get lost. It’s a 1 km hike, but up a steep hill. The auto-rickshaw ride will wind around the hill on a 4-km road.

An Indian ride on the wild side: Khuri→Jaisalmer

The one constant when traveling is that every day is full of new experiences, whether good or bad. After having a run-in with a serious case of Delhi Belly, followed by a sandstorm ruining our dinner in the desert (sand = not so tasty), we were due for some good times. Our return trip from Khuri was just what the doctor ordered.

It was a day full of those adventures that India seems to be so good at providing.  We woke up in the desert 5 km outside of Khuri and enjoyed some tea and delightful chapati before heading back into town on our camels. Once back in town, we packed our bags and said our goodbyes to Badal and the other guest before heading to the bus stop.

When the bus finally came, the sight was surreal. As it pulled up, I noticed a few people sitting on the roof. In a country with a population of 1.2 billion, somehow that actually makes sense. I snap a picture or two with the iPhone and snicker to Akemi. Hoping to squeeze into the bus as a few people get off, we look to the ticket master for direction. He looks at us and points... up.

I feel a little background on Indian buses is in order. We were eased into the mayhem of Indian buses a few days prior on our ride into Khuri. First, they're hard to find. There are no signs for the bus stop, so you just need to know where to stand. Your best bet for finding the bus stop is to ask the locals, but that in and of itself can be a harrowing experience. As with anything in India, this will normally require asking 3-5 people, at least one of whom will inevitably tell you that there is no bus stop or the buses don't run anymore. This is the Indian equivalent of "I don't know."

The bus stop in Jaisalmer was nothing more than people standing in front of a few street stalls. Not only that, but the buses aren't marked and are rarely on time, so you again just have to ask and hope someone knows which bus is the one you're looking for.

When you do find your bus, it will inevitably be crowded to at least twice what the Western sense of "full" would be. When we boarded our first bus, all the seats were taken, and the aisle was full to the brim... or so we thought. The ticket master directed everyone to sit three abreast on every two-seat chair, and we squeezed at least eight onto the rear five-person bench. Even after this, there was no room to walk the aisle with all those standing. I'm so, so glad our packs are small.

So back to our tale, the ticket master points up. Incredulous, at first Akemi sat there hoping it was a joke, but I could tell that this was the only way we were getting back to Jaisalmer on this bus. We head to the back, and I'm the first to climb the ladder. Akemi follows suit.

Can you tell we enjoyed the ride?

Up on top of the bus, it looked every bit as crowded as our first bus was inside. There was a small railing along the outside to keep people from falling, maybe six inches high (15 cm or so). We push as far forward as we can and squeeze out enough room to sit down for the 90-minute ride. Along the way, a few more people amazingly piled in behind us at each stop.

So here we are, sitting on top of a bus, scrunched in between a guestimate of at least 30-35 people. Everyone is chattering away, and just as with our previous journey, someone pulls out their cell phone to blast Hindi tunes to the very limits of his tiny phone speaker. Anytime the bus comes across an overhanging tree, everyone on that side of the bus leans back into us sitting in the middle to avoid getting smacked in the face by branches and thorns. The bus has to stop several times to shoo a cow or goat out of the street. The view is panoramic. This is India.

Ticket master and bus ninja

Topping off our experience, halfway through the trip, we see the ticket master come up the ladder. Rooftop tickets are full price! He somehow manages to make his way all the way to the front and collect everyone's money. Then comes the real kicker—after getting his money, he climbs down the side of the still-moving bus and into the cabin through a window! I glanced down and noticed that there were also passengers hanging out the bus door—THIS time, the bus really is full.

By this time, we were getting pretty chummy with our fellow rooftop riders. Indian people love having their picture taken, so I bust out the iPhone again and snap away, showing them all the pictures and meeting pleased faces of approval. We may have gotten a little more sun than advisable up there, but all in all, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

Oh, and Jaisalmer wasn't too bad either. Great little town with great people.

Any other good Indian experiences out there? If so, share!

Delhi Belly strikes in the deserts of Rajasthan

A camel imitating me the first day in Khuri

8/27/2012: It's a clear day here out in the deserts of Khuri, located in the state of Rajasthan close to the India-Pakistan border. It's also the third day since entering our first real bout with traveler's sickness: Delhi Belly. With something like 90% of those traveling to India having problems, all the more in monsoon season, it was really just a matter of time.

While we've had run-ins with loose bowels before, I haven't been this sick in quite some time. I was entirely incapacitated the first day; not only did I stay next to the toilet with roll in hand, but I also remained in bed the entire day and night with a bad fever and no appetite. Akemi got off the easier of us two, but I'm sure here time will come (note: she's currently feeling it here in Jodhpur).

Given the circumstances, other travelers here at the Badal House have shared their stories. An American couple have been hit twice, once for 4 days. The Singaporean guy said he wasn't right for 2 weeks up in Nepal. What he said rings true: luckily, on long trips like this, it isn't the end of the world to lose a few days. The best thing to do is just hole up in a 3-star hotel with AC, take your pills and wait it out.

Us with Badal Singh, owner of Badal House

We don't exactly have any 3-star accommodations available to us here in such a small village (population: 2,000), but the Badal House is a nice, clean family-run guest house. It's owned by one Badal Singh, a retired farmer/camel runner who appears to be fairly well-off by local standards. Refreshingly, especially in this country, he refuses to advertise and puts no pressure on you at all. He's about the only place in town that doesn't sent touts down to Jaisalmer to stir up business from new arrivals; some places go as far as placing people in the train to ask where you're staying before you even embark. In contrast, Badal won't even offer you a camel ride unless you ask for one, and that's about the only game in town. He used to provide the service himself, but he recently sent his eldest son off to university in Jodhpur to study art. Now he merely outsources, at no commission, of course.

Women going to get water from the village well

The accommodations themselves are quite simple. He has two rooms and a few mud/dung huts out back. The electricity cuts in and out, but other than the fan keeping the flies away, we hardly notice. His wife and daughter make yogurt and chapati from his own cow and millet. He also only has squatter toilets—something I've avoided in the six years previous in Japan. I've become well acquainted with them by now.

Despite the bout with sickness, it's been very peaceful here. We sit around and chat with other travelers, watch Badal's goats and cows prance around, and sip excellent chai between the 3 squares he serves up, inclusive in the price of a night's stay. Now that I'm feeling up to it, we'll set out tonight on an overnight desert safari. It should be fun!

The dunes just outside Khuri

Directions to Khuri:

• From Jaisalmer station, turn right on the only road there and walk 10-15 minutes into town. Ignore all rickshaws and follow the locals.
• You will get to a circle with shops on the left hand side and a few stands on the right. Ask here for the bus stop. If you see a sign on your left for a lake, you've gone too far. The bus stop is about 100 m before the turn for the lake.
• The bus will stop in front of the stands on the right. Expect it to be at least 30 minutes late. If you ask the people at the stand, they will tell you which one is for Khuri.
• Bus cost: 30 rupees/person, one way
• Bus times
• Jaisalmer to Khuri: 9:30am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 5pm
• Khuri to Jaisalmer: 8am, 9:30am, 10am, 11am, 2:30pm

Badal House info:

• Phone number: +91-8107-339097 (no e-mail/homepage)
• Cost: 300 rs/person/night, 3 meals incl.
• Camel safari cost: 550 rs (overnight, 2 meals incl.)
• Makes lassis on request