rocket power

so. i'm in the new delhi railway station, on my way to haridwar to see eben(!) and natalie (!) and noah(!) (oh my...)

leaving rajastan was a little sad. there was something in the air there, something that was somehow and inexplicably different from the rest of india. maybe just sand...

spent a few days in bed in jaisalmer, strange illness that caused me to be extremely tired and unable to follow conversations, especially conversations in french. and then, up i got and onto the camel's back. into the desert, into the sun. and i felt immediately better. except for the camel riding part...ooo. not so comfortable.

first day there was a giant windstorm. for lunch we ate chappatis cooked with sand, vegetables spiced with sand, chai sprinkled with sand... tried to set up camp in the dunes, huddled under blankets or under camels, unable to come out without blinding oneself. occasionally a tumbleweed would drift past.

finally it died down, and the night was calm. for dinner our seasoning of choice seemed to be wiggling insects rather than sand. a refreshing change. thank goodness it was dark and we couldn't see much of what we were eating...

sleeping on dunes in the middle of nowhere. so so dark, such bright stars. the first time i've camped in months - it was lovely and felt like home. sunrise was incredible, slow, anticlimactic. back on the camels, back to my new friend rocket who is not so speedy as her name may suggest, and back to the pain...

and now here i am, moving by train rather than camel. a little faster, a little less painful, but not quite so cute.

back in dehli where it all began. seems a little less insane to me now, but still insane enough.