Episode 3: Sand in My Desert Saddle

[Narrator voiceover] “Previously on Episode 1, Jen was in the clutches of near purchase with the textile merchants. Who would be the most desperate?”


Jen: How much for these three wall hangings?
Rakesh: 600 Rupees ma’am.
Jen: 600 Rupees? Come on!
Rakesh: We are fixed price ma’am. (Pointing to cheesy foam elephant sign on wall saying ‘Fixed Price’)
Jen: 300
Rakesh: No ma’am. We are fixed price. We cannot go any lower.
Jen: 300. Look, if I’m buying three, what kind of deal can you give me?
Rakesh: Let me ask my manager ma’am.
(He walks over to manager, chats in Hindi, and walks back.)
Rakesh: He says 550 is the lowest we can go ma’am.
Jen: 300
Rakesh: Ma’am we are making only 10 Rupees a piece on these. We cannot go lower.
Jen: 300 or I’ll go somewhere else.
Rakesh: Ma’am, 550 is our best price.
Jen: Never mind then. Thanks for showing me your things.
(Jen slowly walks out door while silently counting to herself…)
Jen: 1…2…3...4…5…6…7…
Rakesh: OK MA’AM! 500!
Jen: 400
Rakesh: (starting to bag her purchase smilingly) Ok ma’am. 400
Jen: You got change for a thousand?

We’ve learned that whatever price they first quote, divide it in half and start the haggling with that. The patented ‘Jennifer-walk-out-move” is a guaranteed deal clincher 90% of the time. I don’t recommend trying it at Target though.

[Narrator voiceover ] “Did Episode 2 of our exciting South Asian melodrama end in disaster or did Jen evade the careening Staypuff Tractor in time?”



Yeah, she slept all the way through it.

From The Blue City (Jodhpur), our quest for adventure took us to The Golden City (Jaisalmer), located on the edge of the Great Thar Desert separating India and Pakistan.


Marvel over the magical golden fort of Jaisalmer at night...


...the magical cow greeting us outside our door in the morning...


...and the magical beanstalk - neither magical nor beanstalkish.


The fort was complete with labyrinthine streets and castle watchtowers, giving it a mythical, storybook feel.


This city used to be a major strategic position on the camel-train routes. Now it’s mostly known for its tourism and the military base.


A gazbo on the Gadi Sagar. Once providing the water supply for the city, the lake now provides a paddleboat locale for tourists.


Two saddle sore westerners after a brief 5 minute ride up the dune. Stirrups or a 6 inch thick gel saddle would’ve been nice…


We were fortunate enough to catch the intimate sunset over the Thar Desert with about 200 other people, 73 other camels and 19 sand beetles.

After Jaisalmer, we headed to the only hill station in Rajasthan, Mt. Abu. The visions that we conjured in our minds of a peaceful, isolated mountain getaway after the beautiful drive up the winding road (resembling a combination of Chuckanut Drive and the road to Mt. Erie), instantly vanished when arrived in the packed village of Mt. Abu. A gazillion families were vacationing here during the post-Diwali holidays and had come to see the famous Jain Temples. It was more overwhelming than Delhi, so we saw a few quick sites and jetted to Udaipur.


Before leaving, we summited the highest point in Rajasthan, Guru Shikhar at a stately 5646 ft, and saw the Atri Rishi Temple on top.


Though we could have gotten a ride like this woman, we opted to simply walk up the sidewalk.


Recognize this little piece of James Bond cinematic history? That’s right folks, it’s the Lake Palace in Udaipur used as the setting to house that gaggle of scantily-clad female bodyguards for “Octopussy” in the Bond film. Built in 1754, the Lake Palace is now a luxury hotel.


Though we saw no mercenaries in bikinis, we did enjoy watching traditional folk dancers with some dangerous looking fire pots on their heads.


And a traditional Rajasthani puppet with a dangerous looking removable head too.


By day, this lakeside area is a community bathing and laundry facility.


By night, it’s a popular place to light floating prayer candles.


As the sun set in the west, the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of our Rajasthani adventures set deep in our hearts. Preserved and protected as memories in our minds, we could rest secure that, unless something drastic happened, we would always remember...


Uh...remember what?

THE END - Hope you enjoyed the episodes.
Jimmy