India - Day 9, Osian in the Thar Desert

The village of Osian is an oasis in the Thar Desert, an ancient town which is home to an 8th century temple.  Our drive through the countryside is always a treat.  The fields and roadways are busy with day to day life, women working in the fields and men tending to their flocks of sheep, goats and cattle.  Life seems to be a little more organized out here. The farms even have stone walls to keep their animals in. Of course they still  walk them along the roadway to move from pasture to pasture.  Our bus drive constantly dodges water buffalo, cows, goats and sheep. The little village of Osian is colorful and charming.  The locals are used to seeing tourists as many come here to see the ancient Sachiva Mata Jain temple.  We have to walk through the town past shops, homes and even the local barber shop to get to the temple.
The temple is stunning and very busy with tourists coming to view this incredible structure and many are here to receive blessings from the priest. The priest sits at the head of the temple in front of the idol, as you approach he says a blessing, puts a red dot on your forehead and ties a red string around your arm.  The string stays on your arm for good luck and must wear off naturally over time.

We continue through the countryside with a brief stop to wait for the local train to pass by.  Behind our bus is a truck load of students returning home from school.  Their transportation is a far cry from our school buses. Our next adventure is a ride on camel back to explore the sand dunes of the desert.  Some ladies are little apprehensive and choose to stay at the lodge, the rest of us climb onto our camel's back and head out to view the sun set over the dunes.  It's quiet and peaceful out here and the view is magnificent.  The town of Osian and the Jain temple can be seen off in the distance. Our ride ends at the gates of the gates of the Indian Safari Club, a magnificent 5 star tented hotel set on the highest sand dunes of the desert.  As we arrive the fire is burning in the central courtyard, there is live music and a traditional dancer performs.  There are comfy seats around the courtyard and it's cocktail time.  |Nanette strikes up a conversation with a couple sitting near us and it turns out to be the owner.  He offers to take us on a tour of his retreat and invites all of the ladies to join him in the the lounge for an after dinner drink.  Tonight we dine outdoors under a tent , the ambiance is amazing and the  food is fabulous.  We move from the patio to the lounge to join owner Reggie Singh for a drink.  He has the brandy glasses adn filled with Indian rum for a toast.  The music is playing and the sound system amazing.  Reggie is a gracious host and knows exactly what music to play.  The ladies begin to dance. Before we know it everyone is up dancing and enjoying the camraderie of this amazing group of women.  A fun night is had by all but it's time to leave as we have an early morning departure from Jodhpur to the town of Narlia.  The jeeps are lined up and waiting to drive us from the lodge to our bus. Our jeep ride was as much fun as the camel rides.  The women are happy, laughing and hooting all the way. The desert sky is clear and the stars are bright and magnificent. This has been a truly memorable day and evening.   

India - Day 8, Jodphur

This morning we are off to visit the blue city of Jodhpur.  This city has 1 1/2 million people and is situated on the Thar Desert, the 2nd largest in the world.  Today the temperature is in the low 30's, in the summer months it reaches the upper 40's.  In December and January the nights can dip as low as -5 degrees in the desert.  Stone mining is one of the top industries, red and pink sandstone and green emeralds.  They are also one of the top furtniture makers in the world, #1 in the country and #7 in the world.  It's a thriving community.  Tourism is also quite high on the list and today we will visit Meherangarh Fort, a world heritage site and the setting of Kipling's The Jungle Book. In 1972 this grand fort was put  into a trust and John Pual Ghetty gave money to the family for the restoration. Once the capital of the Marwar Dynasty, it was built on a low hill situated in the heart of the Thar Desert and surrounded by nearly 35,000 square miles of sand.  Today it is surrounded by a bustling city.  Just outside of the fort is a magnificent masoleum.  The beautiful white marble structure sits on a hill overlooking the fort. 
The grand fort is teeming with tourists, many are visiting from other regions in India as they are on vacation to celebrate the Diwali festival.  Our group of ladies seem to be a main attraction here.  Many people from smaller villages haven't seen white people from the Western world.  The onlookers non chalantly slide in beside us to take photos of us and many ask if they can have their family photos with us.  It's quite entertaining and the ladies are very obliging.  We all join in the fun of it all and snap photos of them taking photos of us.
The fort is an incredible structure, the walls are intricately carved and embelished with frescoes depicting life from that era.  The museum houses fine works of art and an incredible display of seats made of finely carved wood and silver which were used to carry the royal families. The view of the blue city is spectacular from the top of the fort and you can see the large royal palace off in the distance.  This palace is now the 5 star Umaid Bhawan hotel and spa.  A couple of the ladies will be visiting the spa tomorrow.

Our next stop is the old city of Jodhpur which we are entering by tuk tuks, a small three wheeled vehicle which comfortably holds 2 people.  The traffic is thick and there appear to be very little rules on the road.  |Our drivers wind through. the busy streets, horns honk constantly and the fumes and pollution are thick.  We exit the tuk tuks at the entrance to the old city and begin our walk through the market.  It's an interesting walk on these narrow streets and we share the road with many people shopping at the local stalls as well as bicycles, tuk tuks, cows, goats and dogs.  You must mind where you walk and keep to the side otherwise you might be knocked down by a tuk tuk.  Our eyes our wide as we take it all in.  We stop to visit a shop that supports the IRDP. This organization was founded by Indira Ghandi and offers ethnic arts made by women in the desert.  The building is filled from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with fine fabrics, rugs, pashminas, scarfs and more.  Our host treats us to a presentation of some of their finest pieces which are made for top designers and distributed to stores in London, Paris and other major cities.  Hermes, Roberto Cavalli, Louis Vitton, Kenzo, Yamamoto and  so on.  These top designers employ 8600 families to make their fashions.  The ladies enjoy an afternoon of shopping.   We head back to the tranquil setting of the Gateway hotel to relax and enjoy a wonderful dinner. The food in India is delicious and they offer a wide variety of local and international dishes.  

India - Day 7. Drive from Nimaj to Jodhpur

We check out of the Nimaj Palace Hotel this afternoon.  This has been a unique stay, the rooms are all very different. Some large and bright, others small and a bit dingy. That's the luck of the draw when staying in the old palaces.  They are unique and charming but not quite up to our expectations of modern standards.  However, this is to be expected for a building that is over 400 years old.  The trade off is the interesting location.  Nimaj is a small village in the middle of the country side.  Our experience here has been amazing. Walking through the narrow village streets to view a primitive way of life and meeting the wonderful people.  We wouldn't trade this experience for luxury accommodations.
Unfortunately Lorece has fallen ill and a few other ladies have a slight touch of Delhi Belly.  Our mission today is to get |Lorece back into civilization to make her comfortable and to have her seen by a doctor.  We give her a few doses of medicine and drive her by jeep to the bus.  The rest of the group enjoy one last walk through this amazing little village to see the sights and say good bye to the smiling people as they head to the bus which is parked on the outskirts of town.  The streets are too narrow and winding for our large bus.

The drive from Nimaj to Jodhpur is as excting and colourful as usual.  Life along the highway is bustling with activity, animals cross in front of our large bus as if they own the road and the markets are in full swing.  I truly love this experience and enjoy every bit of the drive.  We choose to share snacks and take only a couple of pit stops as we must get Lorece settled as quickly as possible. 

Our hotel in Jodphur is luxurious and very comfortable.  The Gateway hotel is situated on the outskirts of the old city.  It's lovely oasis with expansive grounds, gardens and a magnificent pool.  Our rooms are comfortable and very modern.  A nice change from the rustic palace hotel in Nimaj.  The doctor is called for Lorece and Barb kindly offers to stay with her.  The rest of the group head out to a local restaurant for dinner.  On the Rocks is a charming outdoor hotel set in a lovely garden setting.  The evening temperature is perfect and the night sky filled with stars. Dinner is fabulous.   After dinner we visit the shops situated at the front of the restaurant.  Once again the ladies are thrilled with the fabulous items; pashminas, scarfs, jewelry and more.  Another fabulous day is had by all.

India - Day 7, Nimaj

This morning we are going on a jeep safari.  Cameras ready we drive through the small town and out into the fields.  Children and adults wave as we go by and the market area is already bustling.  The air is clean and the breeze refreshing as we drive in the open air jeeps.  First stop is an ancient temple then on to a small country side village for a walk.  The people are so inviting and the children are happy to walk with us and greet us with warm smiles and happy hellos. The ladies of the village are busy collecting water from the well and carry it back on their heads.  Some have bundles of sticks for their fire, others are busy doing their laundry on the front porch of their home.  It's quite a different way of life here in the countryside.  Men are moving their goats through town out to the pasture and the usual animals wander through the streets, dogs, pigs, goats and cattle. We are invited into a few homes to see how they live.  A young woman makes roti on the fire, another family demonstrates their pottery making and a young family show off their new born baby.  After our stroll through the village we climb back into our jeeps and continue our drive to the lake.  It's time for a tea and coffee break.  The setting is wonderful and the temperature just right.  It's early so it's not too hot yet.  We continue our drive to look for wild aniimals. We're in luck, their's a small heard of antelope grazing in the distance.  We approach slowly so we don't distrub them.  Cameras are aimed and ready.  Now it's out on to the main road and back to the village of Nimaj.  It's time to relax. Many go to the palace pool for a refreshing swim.  Sandy leads us through a an aquafit class, others chat while enjoying the coolness of the pool.  Time to pack our bags and check out.  After lunch we are heading to the blue city of Jodhpur.

India - Day 6, Jaipur to Nimaj

This morning we begin our colourful drive to Nimaj.  You can still see and feel the Diwali excitement in the air. The bustling markets are full of locals shopping for fruits, vegetables, sweets and more.  There is an amazing dance of people, cars, motorcycles, cows and goats.  Life in the streets is never dull and we marvel at the way our drive maneuvers his large bus through these busy streets.  Then it's into the  country side where life seems to slow down to a nice pace.  Cows wander about the road looking for a nice grazaing area. Sometimes they stand in the middle of the road as if to claim their territory.  The traffic goes around them and their strange system seems to work well.  Our drive is many hours so some of the ladies catch up on their sleep, others chat or take photos of the colourful women out working in the fields.  A quick pit stop, if that is possible with 22 ladies that love to shop. The excitemet on the bus builds as we approach the busy village of Nimaj.  Our bus has to the park in the main square as the street leading to our hotel is too narrow to enter.  The ladies are thrilled to walk through this small,vibrant town.  The locals are delighted to see us and the children all greet us with smiles and cheerful hellos.  We enter through the large arched gateway into the courtyard of the Nimaj Palace Hotel.  The Royal family still lives here and tonight we are going to be treated to a private cooking class with the daughter in law of his royal highness.First we enjoy a lovely lunch then check into our rooms.  Once settle we are taken on a walking tour of the Village of Nimaj.  The locals are excited to see us and some welcome us into their home to see how they live.  It seems like every child in the village has come to escort us through their town.  Children shake our hands, smile, ask questions and request their photos be taken.  They are delighted when we show the photo to them and this of course makes them want more and more.  It's so much fun moving about this amazing little village.  The houses inside are well kept but the streets are full of garbage and excrement. The cows, dogs and goats seem to own the streets here.
After our walk we freshen up and join the royal family for our cooking demonstration.  From here we move to the roof top terrace to enjoy music and dancing performed by the locals and a fireworks display.  His Royal Heiness joins us for the show them excuses himself for the evening.  Dinner is served on the terrace under the star lit sky.  It's quite magical here at the palace.

Tomorrow we are going on a jeep safari. This should be fun.