You greeted me with such anticipation
And painted my world with so many colours
You provided me with such romance from your history
Goodbye India... for now.
Here's a kiss for the end of this chapter.
This lovely city is the first planned city in the whole of India and it reminded me of a very peaceful n leisure form of Singapore. The roads are wide n free of clutter, there were dustbins everywhere n trees n grass on all free spaces. This lovely girl here is Arshia, Ashima's sister, who is Cherie's age. haha
On the first official day, we went to the Rock Garden. This place is awesome, it has pretty fountains
n garden sculptures
ashimaaaaaaaaaaaaa
n structures made or broken plates n bowls... all part of the government's efforts to promote an environmentally friendly culture. Im impressed I must say...
Some of the sculptures were actually made from broken bangles too
The local TV stations like to come here to film their Punjabi movies n TV series
I must say this place stuck a chord in my heart. It is so different from all other parts of India. N the culture of the people here differs too, they are more conscious of their surroundings, n would rather pocket their rubbish to bring home to throw over littering. Or this might just be the great upbringing of my friends.
Aunty n I - extremely lovely woman who cooked Thai food for me n gave me a pearl necklace n a silver bangle.
Ashima n her daddy
Vogue moment - priceless
The Famous Lake where people take strolls along n where Arshia picked up the Marijuana leave-lookalikes
Are you ready for some real action-packed pictures?? Say AYE!!!
Sights of poverty on the railway tracks. The place where these people live or attempt to live.
On the way, on the way to our great adventure!
Lunch at the great taj Hotel - whose food I thought paled in comparison to the awesome lamb at the Palace... Even the naan experts agreed with me.
A moment in time. Stop. Pose. Breathe. Live.
Humbled.
Funny looking bikes they have here - leopard prints n polka-dots
Our friendly and 10 upon 10 camel guides. The youngest whom is only 19 and had a big day the very next day - picking his bride. The oldest guide gave me my nickname of maharani...
Maharani looking back at you!!
Melvin and his talking camel
How do you measure brotherhood?
How do you measure arrogance?
How do you measure thirst?
How do you measure hunger?
How do you measure freedom?
How do you count dreams?
Why do you want to grow up?
This fella probably doesn't want to grow up to be mutton on our plates
Nor this.
Nor them...
The queen getting tended to.
Pretty and soft sand. Smooth and warm to the touch... At this point in time, Janni was too tired to try balancing on this velvet sand... But he was such a good boy standing tall and proud so this picture could be clicked...
Mr Bond the guide
Robin and Nick - obviously feeling the pains of camel riding... Haha.. these guys are the best desert companions. They stayed up to tell me scary stories and scared ourselves silly with a loud meow (India has no cats)... Really loved staying up to make pictures out of the stars and watching the shooting stars. Thanks Nick. It was indeed a magical night.
Molten sand... imagine if this was choc....
Follow the path of footsteps and they will lead you right to me.
At that moment, I wished so much for peace at heart. To stop the frantic silent cries from within. It's so difficult when all around there is so much life... Finding a vacuum to bury my thoughts.
And I wished for harmony - the blend of many contrasts, like night and day... light and darkness
And lastly, I wished for understanding. That we would listen beyond what we have to say and listen to the needs of others. These wishes I carved in the sand while the wind blew each layer away with each cold night breeze. I laid on the warm sand, now starting to lose its warmth, closed my eyes and envisioned all these coming true.
How many different functions of sand are there? Play, Work, Medium, Decor, Earth.
While leaving the desert, I left a trail of breadcrumbs: Memories of laughter, shouts, sweat, fun, speed, wind and a certain amount of fear.
Long long necks.
Lie with me under the big umbrella tree. Come watch the sunlight dance upon the leaves. Close your eyes, share with me your dreams and we will be free.
Up to no good... Muhahahha
The Hotel
The Awesome pool
The rooftop to watch the nightskies from
With a marble elephant for company.
On the way back where we met this lovely Jap man who has a special Chinese name of lil shepard with wisdom. My name apparently means shooting star. pretty ring to it eh? i cant remmeber what Nick's meant but Robin's goes something like OH Shiiiii (haha sounds like oh shit) but means "too good to be missed"... Haha thanks for all the Jap snacks and oragami sessions... It brought back snatches of childhood... We grew up too fast...
The train station
Taj Rajwala - the hotel which John Lenon and Amitah Bachan left testimonials about.
My beautiful bed
And a beautiful view. Apparently the hotel is within a real fort from great times
Going into the city to meet my friend the COW
MOO!!
Trying on turbans and alibaba pants...
Our city guide who is studying Psychology to be a professor. He lives in Kashmir but comes here for summer to help his uncle.
Celine.. Singh
The local children
Mansions of the past.
Nick and I
Childhood - I miss that
The Past
The dark alley
Jaisalmer was also known as the Golden City
Robin and I
All those guilty as charged of having too much fun
Melvin and I
Calf in the cot
This was/ is the residence of the Prime Ministers - I think...
The vegetable market
The children who work there
The happy faces that light up the streets
Old men gathering
My camel!!! Please meet Janni - the prettiest camel ever. He has golden hairs in his ears and a relatively long mane. His fur is silkier than the rest!!!
Everyone wants to pose with my camel
Janni is just a star
Haha big celebrity
Ok Melvin n his camel - who happens to look like a cowboy soft toy here
Jamorn says nick looks a lil like a camel here.. hahaha
The village in the desert
Our lunch stop at the water hole where we watched animals come and go
Fighting with turban cloth
