January 23 – 4:45PM – Train to Agra.

On the move again on a night train from Jaisalmer to Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal. Today in Jaisalmer was a mellow day. We figured that we should probably take a tour inside Jaisalmer’s palace within the fort so we did. We listened to an audio tour which was well put together and learned some history. All that I can remember at the moment from the tour is that the fort was built in 1156 as an important stop on trade routes with Asia and Africa and that some of the attacks and sieges that the fort defended itself against lasted for 12 years at a time. For lunch we ate at a restaurant I found in the guide book which was very good called Natraj. It had the same name as the Anthony Bourdain place in Udaipur but was not the same restaurant. This one served a lot of meat curries, meat being more common up here and the traditional food of the Mughals who were a group of imperial rulers who controlled a huge chunk of India and Rajasthan from around 1525 to 1850. I bought a few more souvenirs and some silver bracelets after lunch and I am getting pretty good at haggling which is a regular part of business in India. It gets tiring to argue over like 75 cents but it’s just part of the game.
Last night we went to return our motorcycles and then hung out with Hemant. We sat on the floor again and drank Signature whiskey. Signature is made by the UB Company which also makes the most ubiquitous beer in India, Kingfisher. We talked for two hours or so about everything, why sacred cows are sacred, something to do with cows being with Krishna when he first came around, whether or not everyone does arranged marriages in India, pretty much yes, what Hemant thought about Americans, he likes ‘em and he is also a Bush admirer because of Bush’s his role in the disempowerment of Afghanistan’s Taliban government in the 1990’s. We also got a very good history lesson of India including how the partition of Pakistan worked and all about the fighting in Kashmir. Yes, Hemant did make some good money off of us by selling a few blankets and renting motorcycles but we had some good honest conversation, got an awesome inside look at the Indian way of life and the friendliness of Indian people and also made a good friend while we were at it. Hemant also invited us over the next day (today) for mutton (big in Rajasthan and I love it) that he was going to cook. We didn’t make it because we felt like just relaxing and also because I am a little tweaked out from the cold medicine that I am taking. We sort of felt bad but have learned that there is an attitude in India that you can do whatever you want if it doesn’t hurt other people. They aren’t all uppity about things like San Franciscans and when we ask if we can do certain things they say, “Of course, no problem. Everything is possible in India.” You hear the latter phrase a lot. It is a very relaxed attitude and I guess you have to be tolerant of others when you live so closely to so many people. Hemant said come by at 11:30 if we wanted and if not that's cool too.

Oh, and I also just remembered that Hemant and Al Pacino exposed Kevin and I to the three people on a motorcycle thing that we have been seeing on the streets. Hemant offered us a ride back to our hotel and when we went outside he got on his motorcycle and said, “Get on.” Kevin and I looked at each other, a little confused, but then Hemant said, “Get on.” again and we said, “Both of us?” and Hemant said, “Of course.” Definitely not cool to be straddling Kevin, but again, another of those “not in the US experiences” that we have been having so often.

Jaisalmer is a great place to visit, not exactly clean by American standards, but nice by Indian ones. There are still loads of sacred cows dropping sacred loads on the streets and feral pigs rooting through the open gutters and sleeping in trash piles, but it’s still awesome. It’s an enchanting place with great history and an overall mystical feeling seeping out of the 900 year old sandstone buildings.



When it came time to leave Jaisalmer we hopped a tuk tuk to the train station and found our compartment on the train. As we were sitting in our seats waiting for the train to get moving who shows up at the train door but Hemant and his man Al. Sort of trippy but they just wanted to say goodbye and wish us luck. It may seem a little strange that they found us but I just think that there are truly good hearted people in India and there isn’t a whole lot else to do in these smaller towns other than cultivate relationships and have conversation with the people around you so they are really good at it. Alright, our train is moving along nicely now. There are about a thousand people sitting outside on top of the train and I can hear them stomping around and see them when the train turns. So crazy because this thing gets going pretty fast and the tops aren’t even flat up there, they’re arched. Next stop Agra… and the Taj.