Jaisalmer and Jodhpur Trip

2024-10-17

#travel#relationships#journal#people

Jaisalmer

I travelled to Jaisalmer by train. For most of the journey I was alone, and at one point I saw a quarrel between a Punjabi passenger and RPF staff. I also noted down random things from that ride that I did not want to forget, including a hostel contact (Mama - 8511408881) and a few Malayalam movies:

Marco
Kumbalangi Nights
Lucifer

I also kept rough travel notes for places and ideas to explore later: Karni Mata Temple, Udaipur sunrise, Kuldhara, and a few history topics around kings/empires.

Jodhpur

In Jodhpur, one thought stayed with me: people often laugh when someone makes a mistake in public, but very few step forward to help. I saw this in the metro when a woman's dupatta got stuck in the door; many reacted, but only one old man actually shouted to help her quickly.

During this trip, I also felt unexpectedly low. I was very excited while planning it, but while traveling I kept thinking maybe it should get cancelled. I still continued, and I am glad I did.

I met Anubhav in Jodhpur, a YouTuber and a government primary teacher. We first met at Mehrangarh Fort while taking photos and later explored multiple places together, sharing expenses. He was very social, practical, and confident in talking to strangers.

He also told me about social challenges around inter-caste marriage in his community.

Later I met Saptarishi from West Bengal, who teaches CS and math to NRI students and keeps learning instruments/languages to stay cognitively sharp. He was calm, thoughtful, and very disciplined. Even with a broken shoe sole, he just tied it with wire and kept going till he reached home in Delhi.

Overall, this Rajasthan stretch gave me a mix of emotions: anxiety, unexpected companionship, and strong reminders about humility, curiosity, and human kindness.