India

My road : Pushkar, Merta, Nagaur, Deshnoke, Bikaner, Pholodi, Pokaran, Jaisalmer, from 10 to 2004-12-21.

After 10 days spend in Pushkar, I resumes the road. The encounter of Anna, German cyclist, traveller, adventurous, that now criss-crosses India since more than a year, that you can discover by his website www.bikeworldtour.com, does than one sets off again together. But this departure cannot be done without passing to Narsingh's home, our painter that besides awaits us. As to every time that one arrives at his place, it is necessary to sit and to start with to drink tea. But this morning something special awaits us, while doing us to return at his place. Narsingh erected a small altar with a plateau and different things over, and probably a ceremony on our persons gets ready. Facing him we leave him to do. He comes first to mark us the forehead of a red impression, the tikka, sticks grains of rice over then we towards the remainder on the top of the head, he puts back us a something piece to eat, as a sugar refinery, we asking our upright hand, he asks us to preserve in the palm some rice the time that he secures us a link, we give it again, he pour it on our head, he passes us next a necklace of fresh flowers around the neck, and coming to squeeze us in its arms, he addresses us protection and good trip. For us it is difficult to understand all that, that has not doubtless nothing banal, every thing having his own meaning that alone knows for him truly. But despite that, that touches me enormously and therefore take that with a serious reality. It will remain a strong moment, of emotion, being able to wonder why as much attention for us. One was perceived as friends, there is a big brotherhood between him and we. All these affixed presents on us, a photo marks to remember it of all that. This is a person that I will not forget and am happy to carry his name on my bicycle.

Resume the pleasant road and different by the did to roll to 2. The necklaces of flowers to the neck, doubtless we are seen in a special way, and let us receive many hellos. The road that we borrow is not at all tourist and we create a real curiosity with the people, more particularly the bicycles and the number of speeds equipping them, with long discussions and commentaries. To every stop, we cannot remain alone, immediately one comes towards we, remaining there to look at us the time of the halt, being able to wonder if someone works or goes to the school. If we are located in road edge, this are the vehicles of all kinds that come to stop to always hear them same questions, which is your name, your country, and where goes you.

Our passage to Merta does us to know the lodging the less dear one that one will be able to propose us, while lodging in a Dharamsala, refuge for pilgrim, to know 0,55 Euros the night while contenting of a metallic bed, of a bench and a place where to wash with a water tub cold. Sometimes, the water point being located from afar, it is necessary to transport himself to role turn the buckets to arrive to have a shower completes. One is said that the tourists to stop here must be itself rare, but despite that the people seem happy to see us, asking itself does one to Merta. In comparison of Pushkar that was tourist and where it was frequent to hear to speak French, here nothing that for the English, that becomes more difficult. But the one and the other, one adapts oneself easily and takes pleasure to the trip. The local restaurants we bring sometimes of true ones surprised in visionary a boy to catch this that serves to wash the ground to wipe our table then we to serve the breakfast, or again rats to charge very close to us while one is swallowing our kachori and tea in the morning.
Our coming to Deshnoke all specially was linked to the visit of the temple of Karni Mata, or temple of the rats. This marble building to the superb scultures in facade is their vacation place, where protection and attention is brought to them. It is a matter of a holy place, and these creatures of the divinities. One comes specially here for them, one watches carefully to their survival, assuring their food on the spot or bringing to them. Anna is fascinated by these animals wanting even to do to photograph itself with them. For my party, to the end of a moment that sufficed me. While moving me, I must take keeps where I walk.The does to have to be barefoot, gives desire and does that one washes his feet while setting off again.

Our overlapped one to bicycle takes us through the desert of the Thar, the landscape becomes dry, the sand and the rocks present everywhere, with of small hills or flat ranges to view loss. The vegetation is rare, thorny, brushlands, dry grasses. Towns of some round huts to the conical roofs are disseminated here and there, living of what, one wonders, with some goats and sheep. Sometimes a man on foot or to bicycle arises not knowing from which it can go out. Alone the trucks borrow this axis, the halts are not very numerous, only the small restaurants for road, finding a simple food, sometimes served to will, but to every time an welcome and a pleasant moment, abandoning me to have a snooze. Progressively of our progression, the road continues to fascinate us and to charm us. The children do not stop rushing to us, we claiming pens, going to be aggressive to certain moments while taking rocks, looking for to stop us or to catch something on the bicycle.

A stop of 2 days to Bikaner sufficed us by the fact that this extremely noisy city, polluted, cluttered with everywhere, with a disastrous circulation. It there has not respect of nothing, or for nobody, one cuts oneself the road, unstops of everywhere, doubles itself, stops and sets off again without even to look at, toots the horn constantly. Alone the cows and the dromedaries with their harness seem undisturb, just like the dogs lying everywhere, while finding sometimes on the roadway. To succeed in lodge will remain itself not evident, for while staying somewhere, one looks for something of more suitable one than on the road while trying to have the hot shower. On the other hand that allows us to benefit from another cooks, and the discovery of a restaurant does us it to adopt, to leave out the chapatis and the dal and to stuff itself with soups, macaroni and ice cream. The fact that Anna is in possession of a newspaper item Indian on her history, we is worth to do free visits of which the strong Junagargh where one can roam to our way in the private apartments and museums. But this that will charm us to Bikaner, this the old city with buildings of an unbelievable architecture, did front wood sculpt wonderfully, an unbelievable work.

We follow our crossing of the desert by the principal road to be sure to find re-provisioning, although we set off again Bikaner with provisions. The discovery remains unbelievable, more progress us and more the desert seems present, totally flat, the general idea extremely far. The brown earth ochre is burned by the sun, sandy, rocky, where nothing apparently cannot push, all water track is leaves, a drop not having fallen year. The dromedaries become familiar, the surpassing sometimes on the road in caravan. It is necessary sometimes to start up the day by to pedal for our departures about 9 hours are too early to find a small restaurant serving us a breakfast, to this hour they are again to the washing of the implements of the day before. That has us a metting on the road of Pokaran to do a really curious encounter. Stopping itself to the first place found, little time after us, a man arrived crouching away from the restaurant and asking a tea. Probably, it could not offer himself only that. In the visionary I was located extremely favored in comparison with him that had not for alone although plastic one, assuring at once its clothing, its shoes and his bundle. Without even to ask itself questions, we came to him to offer a meal. I was then happy to be able to eat and to see this man to divide this moment with us. The alone regret that we had, it was of not to be able to discuss with him and to discover a little his life. That prevented only it was touched, and in thanks he came to put its hands on our head. This road portion particularly is marked by a military presence that creates an atmosphere to which one is not accustomed, and that one would like not to see. She appears by the crossroads many convoys and due camps to the proximity of the Pakistan.

The absent of villages and of hotel oblige us to question the people to lodge, and we does to rediscover us in a family to the heart of a where single town a sand road there takes. We received remarkably, we doing to discover the family, the neighbors, their manner to live, a superb food finding difference with the small reataurants. Set off again never is easy for the people take a real pleasure to receive us, even if for them life must be lasts. Nevertheless it is necessary to resume the road. A halt on the way brings me to realize me the disappearance of certain things and decide done return but beforehand we must find a place for the night. That day, we must face a sand storm, we leaving painfully to advance to 10 kms/h. Gusts return bad visibility, sweeping the ground, taking dead shrubs, the vegetation existing changing color while loading itself with dust of the sand. That oblige us to a short step to find hospitality in an Ashram, retirement place or witty community. Immediately we set off again in bus towards the town that one will win after 3 to 4 kilometers of walk on sand ways where to rediscover is not itself evident. We create necessarily surprised it by our return and a cold one while announcing our problem. A long discussion is involved itself, suspicions, interrogations and a very long expectation. This is after 3 hours of patience, and a constant uncertainty that one was able to recover the entirety of our goods. But the most surprised one, this is than it was necessary until to propose money to the child, that finally ended up to return the all without than this bargaining is place. Confidence mutual insurance company had returned, and one wanted then we to keep to dinner. Of return to the Ashram, we passed a pleasant moment, being done once of more to nourish. Our stop for the following night was equally special with a young man that offers us the night free by the simple one does that on our bicycles we bring the Indian flag.

The arrival on Jaisalmer is done while discovering some kilometers beforehand his fort dominating the city. This is the point that we wanted to attain, and there to remain for the parties. Beyond, it is impossible to us to go by the proximity of the Pakistan. We find to install us in a modest hotel, but the does to rediscover itself with Indian creating an unbearable noise must us to change to the end of 2 days, and to go inside the fort. Our beginnings to Jaisalmer are marked by reunions with already crossed people beforehand. There is in first Harry, an Australian that lodges with us and known to Pushkar. The following days, this is Jasper, a Belgian cyclist that I rediscover, in company of another follower of the bicycle, Switzerland Gerald. So to speak, every day of new persons appear in our environment, there is Sonia a Switzerland girl, a couple of German by bikes, of other cyclists from Germany and Australia. In the morning, to the German bakery one can greet oneself and pass a moment together to swallow growing and pastries. In company of Anna, Harry and Gerald, it is frequent that one some will dinner oneself together to the Chandan Shree restaurant to taste a served thali to profusion for a half Euro. The christmas evening and new year is done equally with these people with a different food to the last day of the year. To this period, the tourist influence does to feel with also several foreigners as of the Indian ones. The big attraction is the fort, but with Anna, we succeed in escape us in the old city to rediscover the calm, mix with the people that go out of at their place in we loud, discover of all small streets with of superb houses. The year 2004 finishes therefore, with a long way, of unbelievable ones meet, of superb discoveries and a life change constant. To all greetings and better vows.