Along came the Greeks and then the English, they tinkered around a bit and we have the word Paradise.
The origin of this word is beautifully demonstrated by Samode Bagh.
It is a tented hotel in a walled garden. Along with a pool, old buildings with bats, camels, peacocks, horses, trees, green grass, delicious food, shady outdoor day beds...
it's a little piece of pairidaēza in the Rajasthani desert.
Our journey started on Friday... 7 of us and driver, sardined into a Toyota Innova for a 5 hour drive into the desert.
I once again had to deal with my destiny of sitting in the middle. We even came up with a genius idea of how to fit in better... by spooning.
During our toilet-paper-free toilet stop (what's new?) there was a really long wait, so a desperate mother expertly aimed her sons pee into the basin next to me. I only noticed this half way through my hand washing. Thank goodness for Hygienic Hand Gel! My only real regret is being too polite and not having the guts to take a photo.
That evening we dined at Samode Palace which lit up and broke into song as we walked between horses and camels, into a shower of leaves and up stairs of flowers. Wel Come.
On day one, Emilia and I walked up 376 stairs in the mid day heat, to the fort. I helped a woman carrying a million sticks on her head unstick her load from the surrounding thorns. A lady under an umbrella sold us flower garlands for a fortune and a guide adopted us on the way down. Our guide showed us the highlights of the local village.
A family who has been making bangles for generations showed us how they use tree resin to make Indian bangles. Seeing the energy and knowledge put into making something that seems simple was awesome enough to get me to purchase an armful. Good marketing tactics.
We then went on a sunset camel ride.
Our beautiful ride took a dark turn when we went past a very disturbing site. A family was trying to get their male buffalo to mate with their female buffalo. The female was pretty much being set up for rape. Her front and back legs were tied together and she was again tied with the side of her face pressed against a tree - she was freaking out. Luckily the male did not seem that interested in her and then we turned the corner and I don't know how the story ends.
Rob and Dan met Ram on their village walk about. Ram organised a dune party for us. It was more of a dune get together, but wonderful none the less. We sat on a hill, under the moon, drinking and singing, with Dan playing his guitar in the background.
Thanks Rob and Emilia for 'lending' some photos to a camera-less girl.
This blog post is dedicatred to my Finch (fiance) who took me on this beautiful holiday. Thank you Spoon!
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