In the morning we woke up around 6 am. to find ourselves surrounded by lambs, sheep, goats, cows, camels, and people from the small rondavels that housed the workson othe land. We were followd by an array of kids as we went about tidynig up the camp site all chanting "photo" and of course we obliged! About 8 we left our desert house and drove about 1/2 hr back to Sambhali Trust. This is a grass-roots organization for the empowerment of marginalized women. It was only started in 2007 by the owner of the Durag Niwas Guest House that we visited yesterday, thanks to a generous donation by Lonely Planet. Dragoman also donates so many rupees per person travelling on the Trust. The Setrawa Village project provides educational and economic opportunities through language training, craft design, and other relevant workshops. The web site if you would like to read more is: http://www.sambhali-trust.org/. We spent a couple of hours wtih the children aged from about 4 up to 14 or 15 watching their dancs and hearing their songs. We also told them a bit about our contries and tried to sing some songs too. Ray gave out the Canadian flag pins we obtained from Bev Oda and they were a big hit. All too soon, it was time to leave.
The problem in India and Rajasthan State is the traditional treatment of women Women are totally dependent on men, and are subjected regularly to beatings, rape, and other violence. Under the Indian Constitution the Caste System is illegal but it is still very prominent especially in rural regions. Some of the girls at the school are married by age 12, even although the law is that women can't marry until age 18. The women at the school are the Harijans or the untouchables, in other words, the lowest of the low. It is hoped that through sponsorship by the Trust these women will be able to make better choices, know their rights, and have an improved economic opportunity. There is much work to be done.
Alanna pointed out that I haven't talked much about the group we are travelling with. Overall, the group is quite congenial, supportive of one another, and not extreme in any way. We get along just fine with all of them and there is always someone available to do something if you so wish. Its not as close a group as our South American group, and the group is generally more independent. Also the nature of the holiday is much differenct from South America - shorter segments, more turnover in people, and I think this leads to the singularity. The overal comraderie exists, but it is not as deep, and I can't see many relationships being continued after the trip. But then, that is just my perspective - and perhaps the others feel they are forming these closer relationships. The people are very diverse:Ray is the oldest, but marvellously, it is not evident. Geoff - English - and retired, but still does some odd jobs to supplment his income; Frank (English) and Franz (Austrian) are both in their early 60s and are retired geography teachers. Karen used to work for the British Government in the VAT office. Sean is a Cockney, about 46, and currently living in Edinburgh. He was in the army for a short time, and now works on a contract basis. Jean Paul - English - not sure what he does. He has a lovely wit, and is one of these steady reliable people. Anthony is from New Zealand. Sarah is Australian - early 30s, living in London and works as an accountant for an optical shop. She was married when young and divorced by about 25. Sara from Seattle (40 ish) - currently living in Italy - quit her stressful job as a manager in IT to travel. Caroline from Boston works on contract in graphic design and marketing. Philip (Scottish) and Marie (Irish), early 30s, married for a couple of years. Philip works as an account manager in the financial field and Marie is a GP. Gemma, English, 30, has been travelling for a while and goes on to Vietnam after Kathmandu after which she goes home to a lecturing job in psychology. Katie is English, 23, and an opera singer. Vajn is from North Carolina and is just entering law school at Cornell. Scarlett and Olivia, both English are in their gap year. So you can see, it is a varied group and everyone brings something different and special.
The weather is getting hotter and we are now truly in the desert. Its not the pure sand and sand dunes desert like the Sahara or the desert in Peru, but it is more scrub - sand with low, thorny trees and camel grass. We watched the "dust devils" forming on the horizon as we drove along through the incresing heat. We didn't really stop for breakfast or lunch today, but just kept going to Jaisalmer where we arrived around 2:30 p.m. The hotel "Golden Haveli Hotel" is brand new and although not quite finished and not quite open it is fabulous. Our room and bathroom in the Indian style, are equal to any 4 or 5 star hotel in Canada/USA. However, the gorgeously located roof-dining room was a bit of a disappointment. Now, in India, you need to have patience. Firstly nobody understands you, but they all look at you nodding their heads and saying "yes", then nothing happens. Second, nothing happens quickly, so when we ordered lunch (a grilled cheese and a pineapple raita) it was 2 hours before the grilled cheese arrived and the raita never did. The grilled cheese was not grilled because there was no power, and plain bread with grated cheese of some unknown description didn't quite live up to my expectations! The owner gave us a 15% discount! However, this gorgous hotel charged us $1.35 per night for a room! Fantastic!!! Beause it was new, the owner just wanted the business. He owns 3 hotels, and told us that it was his fault that we could not stay at the first one because he had mistaken the day of the booking - so he just put us up in the new one. Ray and I decided to chill after we arrived at the hotel and showered then walked down to the Internet and to dinner.We went to one of the owner's other hotels, for our meals and that is how we found this out. In fact he even left his driver to drive us back to the hotel we were staying at after dinner. Another act of Indian kindness.
The problem in India and Rajasthan State is the traditional treatment of women Women are totally dependent on men, and are subjected regularly to beatings, rape, and other violence. Under the Indian Constitution the Caste System is illegal but it is still very prominent especially in rural regions. Some of the girls at the school are married by age 12, even although the law is that women can't marry until age 18. The women at the school are the Harijans or the untouchables, in other words, the lowest of the low. It is hoped that through sponsorship by the Trust these women will be able to make better choices, know their rights, and have an improved economic opportunity. There is much work to be done.
Alanna pointed out that I haven't talked much about the group we are travelling with. Overall, the group is quite congenial, supportive of one another, and not extreme in any way. We get along just fine with all of them and there is always someone available to do something if you so wish. Its not as close a group as our South American group, and the group is generally more independent. Also the nature of the holiday is much differenct from South America - shorter segments, more turnover in people, and I think this leads to the singularity. The overal comraderie exists, but it is not as deep, and I can't see many relationships being continued after the trip. But then, that is just my perspective - and perhaps the others feel they are forming these closer relationships. The people are very diverse:Ray is the oldest, but marvellously, it is not evident. Geoff - English - and retired, but still does some odd jobs to supplment his income; Frank (English) and Franz (Austrian) are both in their early 60s and are retired geography teachers. Karen used to work for the British Government in the VAT office. Sean is a Cockney, about 46, and currently living in Edinburgh. He was in the army for a short time, and now works on a contract basis. Jean Paul - English - not sure what he does. He has a lovely wit, and is one of these steady reliable people. Anthony is from New Zealand. Sarah is Australian - early 30s, living in London and works as an accountant for an optical shop. She was married when young and divorced by about 25. Sara from Seattle (40 ish) - currently living in Italy - quit her stressful job as a manager in IT to travel. Caroline from Boston works on contract in graphic design and marketing. Philip (Scottish) and Marie (Irish), early 30s, married for a couple of years. Philip works as an account manager in the financial field and Marie is a GP. Gemma, English, 30, has been travelling for a while and goes on to Vietnam after Kathmandu after which she goes home to a lecturing job in psychology. Katie is English, 23, and an opera singer. Vajn is from North Carolina and is just entering law school at Cornell. Scarlett and Olivia, both English are in their gap year. So you can see, it is a varied group and everyone brings something different and special.
The weather is getting hotter and we are now truly in the desert. Its not the pure sand and sand dunes desert like the Sahara or the desert in Peru, but it is more scrub - sand with low, thorny trees and camel grass. We watched the "dust devils" forming on the horizon as we drove along through the incresing heat. We didn't really stop for breakfast or lunch today, but just kept going to Jaisalmer where we arrived around 2:30 p.m. The hotel "Golden Haveli Hotel" is brand new and although not quite finished and not quite open it is fabulous. Our room and bathroom in the Indian style, are equal to any 4 or 5 star hotel in Canada/USA. However, the gorgeously located roof-dining room was a bit of a disappointment. Now, in India, you need to have patience. Firstly nobody understands you, but they all look at you nodding their heads and saying "yes", then nothing happens. Second, nothing happens quickly, so when we ordered lunch (a grilled cheese and a pineapple raita) it was 2 hours before the grilled cheese arrived and the raita never did. The grilled cheese was not grilled because there was no power, and plain bread with grated cheese of some unknown description didn't quite live up to my expectations! The owner gave us a 15% discount! However, this gorgous hotel charged us $1.35 per night for a room! Fantastic!!! Beause it was new, the owner just wanted the business. He owns 3 hotels, and told us that it was his fault that we could not stay at the first one because he had mistaken the day of the booking - so he just put us up in the new one. Ray and I decided to chill after we arrived at the hotel and showered then walked down to the Internet and to dinner.We went to one of the owner's other hotels, for our meals and that is how we found this out. In fact he even left his driver to drive us back to the hotel we were staying at after dinner. Another act of Indian kindness.
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