Varanasi (and a million in between!)

Oh dear.

Definitely way behind now, an insurmountable back up of information to relay...NOT GOOD. Where can I even start?!

From Agra we went to Jaipur, Jaipur to Pushkar, Pushkar to Jodphur and Jodphur to Jaisalmer. Now in Varanasi after an epic 40 hour train journey that's left me a little bit train-lagged.

What stands out...in Pushkar, we rented a scooter. 'This is sheer madness, we're going to die' says Sensible, Insurance Policy Aware Louise...half an hour later we're heading down the desert highway and I'm whooping with delight. Didn't see another vehicle for miles (unless you count sheep as vehicles, we saw about a million of those, led by a somewhat bemused sheep herder who didn't seem to like having his picture taken with his sexy harem). Wandered about in the desert for a bit, through a collective (?) of monkeys and peacocks, found a goat herding family wandering the crags. The woman of the family points a gnarled finger in the direction of a nondescript path, babbling Hindu in a well-meaning fashion. We head up the path to the top of the hill - brilliant view. I sit down and get three burrs stuck in my bum, jump up and manage to scratch my scalp on a spiky tree, then pick up the bag to get a splinter in my hand from another spiky stick that's managed to attach itself to the strap. Fabulous.

That said, still very cool. Jodphur has the most amazing fort, free audio tour included in the tourist price...it's incredibly good. You can see handprints on the wall where a maharaja's wives performed suti, the ritual of calmly throwing oneself on the funeral pyre of your dead husband. Now THAT's dedication. We also managed to pick up another travelling companion, Maria, to join us for Jaisalmer! Huzzah! think I have found my new self-help partner for my 'Masala Chai Addicts Anonymous' group that I intend to start up when I get home.

Jaisalmer is amazing. It's like a sandcastle city. The highlight was an overnight camel safari through the Thar desert. We ate, slept, and sang like the camel drivers (who wash their plates and cups using sand...I'm just waiting for the Leptospirosis to set in!) The Thar is mostly scrubland but there are pockets of smooth dunes, one of which we stopped at to watch the sunset and sleep...beautiful. We raced, rolled, and dived down the dunes, carefully avoiding the dung beetles and the necessary pre-requisite of dung beetles. The night sky was incredibly clear, but not as many stars to see as there were in Utah...it's possible that the light pollution from the Indian army panicking around the Pakistan border had something to do with this.

Additional randomness: wind turbines!! In India! Haven't seen a public bin in weeks (they drop it on the road to be eaten by the stray dogs/ cats/ pigs/ cows, or to be swept into little piles weeks later and burnt. Mmm, melting plastic). Our camel driver says it is to ensure that the army has constant power supply. Kinda glad to be away from the border.

Additional additional randomness: lots of cannabis in Jaisalmer, and nobody gives a jot who knows about it. The 'Bhang' shop casually shouts out across the road to us: 'Marijuana? Marijuana Madam Sir?' as we pass by. I chatted for a while with a Brahmin: 'Yes, so I am going to the lake also...you know, sit on the shore, meditate a bit, smoke some hash...' he explains that this is because he is not allowed to drink alcohol. Hm. Methinks somebody missed the point.

News flash: rumour has it that the Dalai Lama is giving a speech in a town 10km away from Varanasi tomorrow. We'll be getting up bright and early to go have a look see...watch this space!