Camels, motorbikes and trains..

So much since last time I wrote here..

Camel safari for 3 days in Jaisalmer, just me and my guide Babu who was an amazing cook and made me chai about 8 times a day. At first was pretty awesome running with the camel and then getting completely away from everything and watching the sun go down and the stars come out.. but then I think some intense loneliness set in. I feel like I decided to do a big travel like this and come to India when I wasn't too happy with some things in my life at home, and when people asked me why India I remember replying that I just wanted to get lost somewhere totally different. Well, I did. And all I could think about that first night when I was sitting under millions and millions of stars was how much I miss everything at home. Sort of feel like I had spent so much time looking to the future in preparing for this trip, sorting out my work for when I get back, finishing off and moving on from uni that I hadn't really stopped to appreciate all the positive changes in my life in the last year. And all wanted to do was call someone at home and tell them that I missed them but for once I had no reception in the desert!

Rest of the safari was quite chilled, just rode to random villages and sat with the people there who made me chai from fresh goats and fresh sheeps milk. Still felt really mellow though, so was glad when I got back to Jaisalmer, although the city is so tiny it just made me miss being back in Delhi and all in all I was one big homesick mess!

I booked a train to go back to Delhi later in the month rather than spend the 2 days in the mountains which I think is much better - I'm glad I'm going back to see people and I think I am learning that solo travel, while I'm still meeting lots of people, is really not for me!

Had to take a sleeper class train to Jodhpur which was crazy cold, arrived at 1am as delayed, and my rickshaw driver walked with me up to my hotel and waited until they woke up inside to let me in, it was really sweet and it did make me feel a lot better. Inside the owners made me some chai to warm me up, and showed me to my lovely room with lovely bed made of wood (so looking forward to my bed at home!! SO MUCH!!).

Today I wandered the streets randomly, walked up to the fort through some backstreets, and back down some other way.. didn't go in. CBF. I guess that's a plus of solo travel, no guilt at missing some things! The view was cool from where I was though but walking through another fort.. no thanks..

Going to book my ticket to Ranakpur now which is a couple of hours from Udaipur where I had originally planned to go, but think 2.5 days there will bore me.. plan to stay overnight in the Jain temple, hoping it'll be like the Sikh ashram in Amritsar which was so crazy awesome.

Counting down the days til I get to Jaipur and Rich and Noelle come meet me - only 5 days now! Although this morning I planned to have dinner with the guy across the hall from me on his last night here so we both have something to do - he's having the same homesickness/boredom feelings as I was getting in Jaisalmer and it's really good to hear that someone is going through the same thing as I am!

Anyway my time is about to run out (internet-wise), so love to all at home :)