The journey continues

We left Jaisalmer at 7.30am.  Originally we planned 

to stay in a small town called Bap, en route to

Kichan.  A renovated havali, which looked fab.

Somewhere to relax for a couple of days, may be

with hot water and a dhobi service. No reply to

our emails, and Samshu had a plan. No contest.

We set out on the Bikaner road, past Pokaran.

In May 1998 India detonated five nuclear devices

which left a huge cater - strictly off limits.  The road

runs along the Thar desert and seems mainly to

be the home of military installations to the north.

The Pakistan border is very close by. Shepherds with 

their goats and sheep, a few houses, not much else.

On the road

a light bite at a dhaba hut, the best curries

cooked before your eyes and the parathas

delicious, not to mention the chai.

a festive lorry

wedding horse

The reason for going to Kichan was to see the

demoiselle cranes.  They arrive from Siberia to

overwinter.  For the last 150 years or so, the villagers

have been putting out grain in the morning and 

evening. Result, thousands of cranes descend on

 feeding grounds.  I was fortunate enough to 

see them on The Rann in Gujarat last year.  

They are huge, flying off with a whooshing noise.  

I noted that the claw print was as big as my hand.

  Now, Keith is very patient with my textile 

thing, so it was only fair to do the wild life bit.

So here they are.  An amazing sight. Great drifts

of twenty plus leaving the feeding grounds every

five minutes or so.

Tick - time to move on.   Next stop Rohet, 

near Jodphur.  I should say here for those

who have not travelled on Indian roads, 

distances can only be estimated in Indian

time!   Another dhaba stop for chai and nibbles.

We stopped off to stretch legs, take in the 

countryside, arriving south of Jodphur at 3pm.

We are now following Samshu's plan.  First off

a safari in the land of the Bishnu, who are very

protective of their land and wildlife. Without entering 

a safari park, we saw antelope, black buck

 and deer. Brilliant, there they were just

 doing their thing.

We had booked in to the Rohet Havali. I was

quite excited since Bruce Chatwin and 

William Dalrymple spent time here writing.

Oh, what a disappointment.  A lovely haveli, but

with very obsequious staff.  No, they hadn't a room

for us, but we could stay in a posh tent  17k away.

A snip at £150 per night.  We didn't think so.

Over to Samshu.  We will go to Todgarh, he

declared.  Another chai stop, and on the road

 again.  It was getting dark.  Oh, those scary

lorries, playing 'chicken'.  Quite terrifying.

Eventually we turn off to a road suitable for

two cars.  Jungle country - watch out for eyes

in hedgerows.  Over narrow gauge

railway tracks, small villages, a few lights in

the distance.  Stopping to ask for

directions every so often.  At around 9pm 

Samshu suggested a beer might be called for.

Crazy, nothing there but a shack with a

metal door.  A knock was answered by

Samshu's friend.  Beer produced which was

consumed under a sky so dark the stars looked

like golden beads on black velvet.  

 More directions for Todgarh required.

We arrived at 10pm.  It had been a long

day for us all.  A great welcome.  We were

the only guests.  I did note that the

havali appeared to be a construction site

Our bedroom was fantastic.  So huge,

with a four poster bed and a bathroom to

loose yourself in.   By this time we were only

to happy to have arrived - and so to bed!

This is a picture taken in the morning.

Pretty impressive to say the least! 

Our room is the one on the left hand turret.

Note - picture of Demoiselle cranes

courtesy of Mr. Rawling. If you want to see 

fabulous pictures of India, check out his

website on the side bar.