Jaisalmer and our encounter with a prince

After Katy's program ended in Ahmedabad, a group of 6 of us (Katy, Nick, Sylvia, Jake, Katy, Alisa, and Tessa) headed off to explore the state of Rajasthan. The state has a lot of desert, forts, and palaces. And since we're still not caught up, these next few posts are going to be done rapid style.

photo by Jake Stout

Just before leaving Ahmedabad and getting on our first Indian sleeper bus. The sleeper cabins are above the seats. It kind of constantly feels like you are about to roll out of the bus. And, although, we would not necessarily say that India wins for the most honking, we will definitely say that it has the loudest and most obnoxious honking. The buses in India have these multiple toned honking systems so that they can play a mix of horn sounds like "doodleloo doodleloo doo" or "wooroo wooroo wooroo" or the good ol' "HAARRRNNKKK." I don't know how to express how terrible these horn systems are. Just imagine the 6 most annoying sounds in the world intermixed sporadically, yet repeatedly, for 14 hours straight.

Tessa and Sylvia in their sleeper.

photo by Sylvia

Alisa and Jake in an auto rickshaw.

photo by Jake Stout

For Jake's birthday we all rented scooters. I trusted Alisa with my life . . . but was terrified.

photo by Jake and Katy

Off-roading.

photo by Jake and Katy

Driving into the sunset.

photo by Jake

We didn't quite have this family's style.

The Jaisalmer Fort. There is still a living city within the fort walls. It's nicknamed "The Golden City."

Katy and Tessa met a really nice lady in a doorstep inside the Jaisalmer Fort and asked if she would give us henna fingerstaches. She didn't even charge us!

"Sharing the Love" or "Making a Young Indian Girl Feel Really Uncomfortable"

And then our new friend threaded our eyebrows.

Nick and Jake getting a shave. For all you Bollywood fans out there, the man shaving Jake has also shaved Abishek Bachchan.

We spent a lot of our time in Jaisalmer hanging out with Shakti. He happens to be one of the princes of Jaisalmer (Rajasthan is made up of many kingdoms) and he now runs a beautiful hotel that feels like you're stepping back in time to the good ol' maharaja days. He took us to his uncle's (aka the king's) pleasure palace where he grew up and learned how to swim. It is a magical place of green grass and crumbling ruins set next to a lovely lake.

Shakti is also one of the number one storytellers we have met on our trip. Just to give you a taste . . . When he was a 15 year old high school student he cut off the headmistress' microphone while she was giving a speech to the entire school and blared "We Don't Need No Education" before running out, jumping on his horse, and making three laps around the school. He then rode off to get to know his people and never went back. Yet he's probably one of the smartest people you'll meet.

Cow entering Jasialmer Fort.

photo by Jake
This is India. Enough said.