meeting cool raoul

JAISALMER - 21st October 2011

Today has been spent plodding around Jaisalmer which has been pretty relaxing. The downtime has been much needed as the last ten days have been so intense. Spent a bit of time putting this blog together, catching up with previous posts and lounging around the hotel in the morning. There is this balcony which overlooks the golden city which i'm currently sat on. Received an email from Lilly saying that they had reached Jaisalmer safely (they took an overnight bus from pushkar) and that they were staying in the desert hotel. After walking around the narrow twisting alleyways which circulate the hill fort i finally found their hotel but the owner told me they had left that morning on a camel treck and would not be back for two days. Having nothing to do I decided to go for a walk, as I've found recently that if you're bored in India,  if you go for a walk something interesting usually happens and today was no exception

Walked down to the central square in the fort where I met the man, the legend, Cool Raoul. He was basically just an Indian del boy who talked to tourists trying to get them to come see his store just outside of the fort. I explained that I wasn't looking to buy anything as I had blown aload of cash in Delhi. He didn't mind and seeing as it was his lunch asked me if I fancied a  beer. We hopped on his motorbike and after stopping at a local store got a kingfisher and drove upto a spot which overlooked the whole city. He was telling me all about Jaisalmer and that for his job he got paid 4000 rupees a month. He said that all this money gets paid back straight to his local boozer who sorts him out with two beers everyday when he drives by. What an utter lad. He lives with his parents (he was only 21) and in the shop he earns 5% comission on all sales which he lives on for petty cash. No rent and food provided by mother. There was a pretty surreal moment when we were sipping cold kingfishers and looking over the city. He pulls out his phone to play some music and his first selection was "Celia" by Simon and Garfunkel followed believe it or not by Justin Bieber! Joked about giving him a slap and then we headed back into town. He asked whether I would like to meet up later to have a go on his motorycycle which I happily accepted arranging to meet him by the gates of the fort at 6.

With a couple of hours to kill I went to the local cafe and got talking to these two older dudes called Tony and Chris from Australia. For some unknown reason the beer that they were drinking was being served to them in a kettle so every now and again they would joke with the waitress that they needed some more "tea" to keep hydrated. Told them I was planning on visiting Australia later in my trip and Tony who works in agriculture over there gave me his number and said that if I needed some extra cash picking fruit whilst in Melbourne to give him a call! This could come in handy as no doubt money might be getting slightly tight by then!

Meet Cool Raoul at 6 and went for a ride. Gave him 200 rupees for some fuel and we took a 50 km drive out of the city to some of the desert roads where he let me loose! Was alot of fun bombing along the roads with the evening wind cooling me down.Once we got back, after a little blitz on his bike around the fort there was a message at my hotel from Lilly and Julien saying that their hotel owner and given me the wrong information (confusing them with another French couple) and they were still in town and that they were having dinner at this restuarant just down the road. Was good to see them again and they have invited me to do some travelling with them after I leave my driver in Udaipur.

Another great day on another planet!

x

Mr. Cool Raoul

Jaisalmer.