Day 23 - On the rails again

Today started at the un-godly hour of 2:00am (yep, that’s not another typo!). We had a cold shower as it was too early for the hotel’s boiler to have fired up. Threw our last few things into or bags and went to the lobby to await the arrival of the rest of the group. The night manager was asleep on the couch – a much more comfortable proposition than the poor chap in Kochi.

Taxis arrived and we head off into the strangely quiet streets of Karol Barg. There were a few people around and the early morning was surprisingly “warm”. No need for a jacket. Half an hour later we arrived at the old Delhi railway station. The outside covered forecourt was providing a sleeping place for hundreds of locals. Whether they were waiting for a train or that’s just where they slept I don’t know. Our bags unloaded we marched into the station proper. Inside were just as many rough sleepers but some of these had the luxury of the station-provided steel benches to retire upon. Our train arrived and we clambered aboard. Being experienced Indian train travelers we knew what to expect. Some of our colleagues did not. It took 30 minutes for everyone to get themselves sorted and just as the train pulled out we were settled in our beds. I scored a top bunk again, Kerry a bottom one.

With a few hours “sleep” under our belts we all got up for a late-morning brunch that Anant had arranged to be delivered at Jaipur station. It was a mixture of flatbread, a chilli chutney, curried potatoes, yoghurt and a really sweet fairy floss-textured sweet made from chick peas. Accompanying this was a mango juice in a tetra-pak box, a banana and a mandarin. The chai-wallah came buy for a small cup of chai masala tea. We chatted a little more after breakfast and then the “wearies” crept back in so up went the middle bunk and we all grabbed a few more hours sleep. I thought the route to Jaisalmer would be more direct but it is not. The train travels from south-west from Delhi to Jaipur, then west to Jodhpur, then north-west to Jaisalmer. We’ll be coming back through those two cities in the days to come.

The train stopped at Jodhpur for a little while and Anant took delivery of some dinner meals for he’d arranged for us. These meals, like the “brunch” meals, were home-cooked, delicious and plentiful. Kerry and I shared one which was plenty for both of us. It seems something was lost translation in the ordering process and the delivery was one short. Dinner finished we all found a place to get a couple more hours sleep. At about 11:00pm, I think, Anant woke us as we were approaching the Jaisalmer station. We got or things together quickly and left the train. The first obstacle to overcome was the stairs up and over the railway tracks. Anant carried Kerry’s suitcase while we guarded his and then we carried the rest of out stuff over the tracks to meet the rest of the group. From there we walked a few hundred metres across the broken pavement and sand to the awaiting tuk-tuk and jeep. A short drive through town saw us at the bottom of the fort’s external wall. Were staying in a hotel near the top of the fort!

Through the narrow gate went our vehicles and up the steep path to the top car park, winding our way through this ancient village. The final leg of our journey was on foot, through passageways and up steps to the hotel’s front door. It’s really hard to describe what the hotel is like – like the village, it’s rambling, with rooms and steps and passageway carved out of the stone that is the fort. I hope the pictures do it justice.

Kerry hit the sack and I climbed up to the rooftop to see Jaisalmer at night. Up there I found Anant, the hotel manager, Cheryl, Anna and Eric sitting on cushions and rugs in the in the open air high above the town. The night air was still warm and the beer was cold as we chatted and took in the glorious view.