"India is India, desert is desert"

"India is India, desert is desert. What can you do?"

Famous words spoken often by Raman, the most humorous local I've met to date, and fortunately one of 2 outstanding guides who led a good group of friends and I out on a camel safari for 2 nights.

This quote would usually be preceded by one of us asking for something that "wasn't possible" ( a quote that only someone who's been to India can appreciate). Or it would be preceded by some sort of complaint of uncomfort, like a midnight sandstorm or creepy crawlers and flying insects invading your personal space. All in all those 2 nights spent in the desert were the most memorable days on my trip thus far. Raman and Matar pumped out restaurant quality food with a simple campfire, and they had a smile on their face the entire time on our trip.

I left Jaisalmer on top of the world but awoke in Jaipur completely rock bottom. Nearly 3 months of train travel had left me complacent, and as I slept I was completely robbed of every valuable I own. I often thought to myself how bad I'd feel if I ever lost my beloved Nikon D3100w/35mm f/1.8 lens (pardon the nerdy talk but it was my baby), or my laptop bursting at the seems with Gigabytes of photos and videos of nearly 3 months gone by in India. I never in visioned both of them being gone along with all of my credit cards, debit cards, a freshly packed wallet from a recent ATM trip and a Canadian passport to top it all off. I do hold some blame for the stupidity of placing all of these items in a single bag I suppose.

I stepped off the train with nothing but a bag of clothes and a range of emotions too long to list. Had it not been for 3 great friends I've been traveling with the past 5 days I'm not sure what would've transpired. They fed me, sheltered me, and lent me a much needed Ipad which I would use for next 24 hours skyping banks and embassies.

I also met some great bankers who went out of their way to help me access funds, having not a spec of identity makes it a rather daunting task to send money over the phone. They would stay past their working hours and even sometimes call me on their own time giving me tips and wishing me luck. Hours were spent in the police station as well, it was there after jotting down in point form exactly what I had lost that it really hit me. One friendly officer patted me on the shoulder and personally apologised for the actions of one heartless thief. Perhaps he thought I may blame India as a whole and go home to tell everyone what a corrupt and bad place it is. But the exact opposite happens here when you get knocked to the ground, everyone goes out of their way to help dust you off and to get you back on your feet so you can keep on moving.

Lately I've been wondering what Raman would say to me in this situation I'm currently in, I think the answer is blatantly obvious.

"India is India, desert is desert, life is life. What can you do?"

Raman, one of the funniest people I've ever met.

Hugh, Ben and Ian, 3 GC's from New Zealand who helped me out in a time of need.

Matar, the other great guide of our trip.

Enter Rajasthan.

After a quick but memorable stop in Bombay, I've arrived in the state of Rajasthan. Udaipur and Jodhpur are tourist magnets in the high season, but nicely devoid of crowds in the heat of the off season.

Rooftops are the theme here and every guesthouse puts theirs to great use. From watching the sunrise with a cup of chai on a cool morning to witnessing it set with a cold beer by your side, there's something about a rooftop restaurant that just 'does it' for me. When you add the call for prayers echoing from the streets below and ancient forts/temples scattered through out the city landscape, it pretty much pushes the ambiance factor almost off the charts. Yep, I could really get used to these kind of mornings/evenings.

The weather has been rather interesting this past couple days as well. It's ran the gamut of blistering heat to overcast and breezy.....even a few monsoon like thunder showers in the evenings to top it all off. Not what I envisioned for a desert region, but it makes for a great excuse to plant yourself at a table with friends and watch the whole fiasco unfold.

I'm liking what I see so far in Northern India, and tonight I'm boarding yet another overnight train to Jaisalmer. I've been warned numerous times of the oppressive heat one can expect in the months of April/May in Jaisalmer, but as far as I'm concerned if you want to experience the Thar Desert then come when it's hot.

Would too much snow stop you from going snowboarding?

 I'm not sure as I've never gone, but it seems like a good enough analogy to reinforce this decision!

Two months down.

I'm not a fan of throwing darts at a map, I consider myself more of a gut instinct kind of person. But In a land of a billion people you can't always get the train ticket you want, so sometimes it's a mix of both can and want.

On a last minute-gut instinct inspired-change of plans, I decided to board a 23 hour train from Chennai to Gokarna, where I quickly reaped the benefits of my ever improving 'good time radar'. It took me almost 2 weeks to escape the grip of that little beach town, but more so it was the grip of the amazing people that I met which really kept me put. New friends, new memories, and a new appreciation for this lifestyle I'm currently enjoying.

At the start of my trip I felt that anyone who could handle India for 2 months should get a medal or trophy of some sort; my jaw would almost drop when people told me they've been here for 3,4, or 5 months. But 2 months in and I'm nowhere near ready to return home, not in the slightest. I do find myself getting ahead of myself sometimes by day dreaming of breezy Vancouver Summer nights, weekend camping trips with friends, and bike rides on non-chaotic streets. I say this because I haven't even scratched the surface of Northern India yet, and if all goes to plan I still have another 2-3 months to go.

 It's not homesickness that's making these thoughts. I know it's not. It's just me getting excited for a future chapter in this fun filled year I have planned out. British Columbia will always be my home and it's perfectly normal to miss something you love when you're separated from it for months on end. But sometimes I need to give myself a smack across the face to refocus on what's relevant (always have been a bit of a mind wanderer).

That being said I'm back in Bombay, the place where it all began 2 months and 4 days ago. I've hooked up with a friend whom I met in previous travels 2 years ago while in Brazil. The randomness of life has made sure we'd meet almost 2 years later to the day in India (where else would we have met?). From here it's on to Udaipur where my next adventure begins.

I look forward to getting back into photography mode and updating this blog more often as my Northern travels progress. I find the beach life a bit bland to photograph and write about....apart from the odd beach cow and sunset that is.