From the Desert to the Himalayas...

Written on a Plane En Route to Delhi March 29, 2014

I just realized that the chronological ordering of my blog is a little confusing and incomplete, not to mention I am way behind on blogging, so here’s more or less the itinerary of the last month of my travels: 

• February 24-March 4: I returned to Mumbai from Kerala to help Dasra prepare for the Dasra Philanthropy Week, one of the premiere philanthropy conferences in Asia
• March 5-7: Attended Dasra Philanthropy Week where I had my mind blown while learning from some of the most seasoned corporate executives, philanthropists and impact investors talk about creating social change (covered in my reflections blog entry)
• March 8-10: Took a 23 hour train to arrive at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (covered in this blog entry)
• March 11-13: Took a 6 hour bus to Bikaner, Rajasthan (covered in my last blog entry due to the depth of experience I had there)
• March 14-15: Took a 12 hour train followed by another 6 hour train to arrive at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh (covered in this blog entry)

To be covered in future entries:

• March 16-23: Took an 8 hour bus to Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh
• March 24-25: Took two buses spanning 7 hours to Amritsar, Punjab
• March 26-29: Returned to Mumbai by flight to attend the Dasra annual retreat
• March 30-April 4: Hanging in Delhi and the Taj Mahal
• April 5: Nepal! Itinerary TBD

Confused yet? Me too. Let’s get blogging.

The Thar Desert of Rajasthan

A romantic yet deadly place, the desert has captivated the heart of many people throughout history. I grew up influenced by Frank Herbert’s Dune and recently watched Lawrence of Arabia – needless to say, I was pretty pumped to visit India’s Thar Desert in Rajasthan via Jaisalmer and Bikaner.

Jaisalmer: The Golden City

Jaisalmer might just be one of my favourite places in all of India. When the setting sun strikes the sandstone architecture of this amazing city, it magnificently earns its alias as the Golden City. 

Overlooking the Golden City with its mighty fort in the background

The view from my guesthouse room within the fort itself (for only $8 per night!) 

I didn't realize until after I booked my guest house that staying in the fort is actually bad for it. Apparently the fort is sinking due to water usage within the fort itself and is at risk of structural failure. I did what I could to preserve this historic site by conserving water during showers and avoiding street food to minimize subsequent toilet flushings.

Besides being an amazing place to just hang out in itself, Jaisalmer also served as a fairly badass starting point for my camel trek into the desert.

All camels...

...all the time

The camel up ahead took at least 6 shits during the 90 minutes I was right behind it

A desert sunset is possibly one of the most magnificent sights to be seen in the natural world

I was obsessed with trying to get good photos of this dung beetle

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

This beautiful dog from the camel trek base-village was a major benefactor of local tourism. It followed us into the desert and chilled out until we were done with our meals and left our scraps to him

The Mouse (RAT) Temple of Deshnoke

The only sightseeing I did while in Bikaner was an afternoon trip out to the Mouse Temple of Deshnoke, a couple hours away from the centre of Bikaner itself. The locals here believe that rats are a reincarnation of their ancestors and encourage thousands of rats to take residence in the temple.

One rat nibbling...

...while another one sleeps...

...five more joined for an afternoon nap...

...while the rest decided to make the best of their Sunday afternoon

The white rat just behind the gate from the water pan on the right was an auspicious sign. I was blessed by good fortune to spot him

The temple shrine where the "ancestors" are worshipped

Did I mention that you can only go into this temple barefoot?? The occasional rat did try to come up to me to sneak in a couple nibbles 

A second photo demonstrating that the foot does indeed belong to me

If you step on and injure/kill any of the rats in this temple, you are expected to repay the weight of the rat in gold. Most. Ridiculous. Place. EVER.

From the Desert to the Outer Himalayas: A Rough Journey

There are four classes of sleeping-class train tickets in India: SL (Sleeper Class), 3AC (3^rd class air conditioned), 2AC and 1AC. I usually buy 3AC class tickets because I have heard many horror stories about the SL class cars from other travellers, not to mention the price difference is usually less than $10. Well, I booked an SL class ticket for the first time because the other cars were full.

I’m glad I experienced it but it’s one of those things I think I’ll only do once.

The windows were left open because of the lack of AC so I had to dust sand off my computer every 10 minutes. Blankets, pillows and bedsheets are provided in the AC classes but not for SL. Any part of me that touched my berth became coated in black dirt. The lack of blankets definitely wasn’t fun during the night as the journey transitioned into the Outer Himalayan winter night. I guess I can’t complain since it was only $5 for a 12 hour train ride.

Luckily, all of the hard work was worthwhile. I got off the train at around 6am at a place called Kalka to ride a designated UNESCO heritage train up to Shimla. The train was built during the British colonial era to ferry the British up to their Indian summer capital. It was a beautiful train reminiscent of a romantic old-fashioned era that once existed.

They called it a "Toy Train" because it really looked like the model trains most boys play with as kids

One car was completely open and just held a couple water tanks. It was a ton of fun to cruise through the Outer Himalayas and ride through tunnels on the outside car.... until I got nauseous from the engine's diesel fumes 

Crossing a really cool bridge on the Toy Train

I saw this sign at the terminal station. Coolie was a derogatory term used in the colonial days, either they were too lazy to switch the sign or there's still some racism going on

Shimla: The Summer Heart of the British Empire

India is not a fun place during the summer, especially for those who are foreign to the country. The British developed Shimla from a small colonial outpost in the Outer Himalayas to a bustling summer capital for their empire. 

The Viceroy's Lodge in Shimla. 1/5 of the entire world's population was governed from this mansion during the summer months of the British colonial era in India. Today the builder forms part of a local University campus

The city itself hardly felt like India proper: there were no common sightings of public urination, cows taking huge shits everywhere and touts trying to cheat you of your money. It was a welcome break from an intense stay in India and a reminder of what I took for granted in Canada.

Shimla itself was extremely hard to photograph because it's strewn across a series of large hills and valleys

I didn't realize how much was in this vista until I looked closely at this photo in writing this blog. This photo alone depicts a Sikh temple (I think?), a Hindu temple further back and a cathedral way at the back. It also features European style lodges, shanty shacks and Indian style concrete houses

I am way behind on blogging so there is much more to come soon... stay tuned!!