What we did: explored
city, trip planning
Budget: 3500R/$70;
Spent: 2160R/$43.20
Jeff woke up not feeling well today. He wasn't doing great before
bed and was worried it was his time. Looks like it might be.
It was a chillier day than usual day in Jaisalmer. The air was
crisp and because of the wind, the sun didn't provide much respite from the
chill. I ate some porridge with bananas for breakfast and a delicious croissant
from a German bakery down the street. Jeff’s stomach was feeling iffy so he
decided not to eat anything and only had some lemon ginger tea. We sat on the highest
rooftop under the sun overlooking the city. It was beautiful despite it being
chilly.
[pic]
Afterwards we went back to the room and Jeff slept for a bit
while I did some research on possible options for meditation retreats in India.
It has been a lengthy search indeed. I’ve spent countless hours looking into
where to do a meditation retreat and still haven’t decided on one. Though I have
certainly narrowed down the options and now we have a clear idea of what we’re
looking for. We don’t want anything too intense. There are some very interesting
ones that no doubt provide quite an experience, but basically they involve 4:30 am wake up calls to meditate, and that’s all you do for 10 straight days,
and all in complete silence! Plus, they separate men and women for the duration
of the stay. It’s just too much for us. I’d like a more balanced approach
otherwise I think I could go insane. The search continues.
At around 1pm we decided to head out to town. I still needed
to buy a hat for our desert safari. We went looking and found nothing. We came
across another cute bakery selling fresh goodies and we bought two cookies.
People on the streets are constantly yammering at us. It’s almost always the
same conversation that goes like this: “hello, hello, where you from?”…. “Oh
Canada, the French part?”, “oh, so how long are you here for?”… and then they
entice you into their store where they every so patiently could show you every
single product that has been packaged away on their shelves. Indian people have
quite a charm about them. They’re very friendly and warm. And almost all our
interactions have been quite pleasant aside from yesterday’s spectacle. I’m
getting tired of answering the same questions with the same sincerity and
smile, but it’s quite cute because Jeff is always the same with all the
vendors. He is so sweet, makes me feel kind of guilty! What a sweet man I
married.
Jeff’s condition didn’t overly improve during the day so
after some walking we went back to the hotel and Jeff slept some more until
dinner time. It was about 5pm when we set out in search of a highly recommended
restaurant from our book. It was outside the fort in a hotel which was also
known as a haveli. A haveli is a traditional, often ornately decorated
residence. Many have been converted into hotels but have kept their décor and
style. This place was quite the haveli. It was beautifully rustic and historic
but well kept. It felt like being in an antique museum but with a much more
homey feel. As nice as the atmosphere was, the food was a bit of a let down. I
ordered pasta and Jeff and I both had soups, but nothing was what we would call
“good”. It was decent I guess.
[pic]
After dinner it was it was pretty cold. We made our way back
through the streets which are always filled with people, and motorcycles, stray
cows and dogs...anything you can imagine, really. We’re always dodging something whether it’s people,
potholes, cow dung, or motorcycles. It’s hectic that’s for sure. We found me a
hat for under $3 that looked exactly like the one Jeff bought for $6 inside the
fort, except in a different colour. The markup is gross in some touristy
places. We bought some chips and chocolate for a movie night and headed back to
our hotel room to relax. We watched the newest Spiderman movie and quite
enjoyed it.
Jeff is not doing so great. Seems he has the same thing I
had. Hopefully it’s a milder version and he is better tomorrow for our desert
safari otherwise I’m not sure what we’re going to do about the tour.
Good night.
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