A few more pictures................

MAKING BREAKFAST CHAI IN AN ABANDONED HUT IN THE DESERT

JUST AFTER DAWN

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS............ 

THE CHOICE IS MADE!
:)

BACK IN JAISALMER - SADHUS, COBBLERS.........

.... AND ROOFTOP KITE FLYING

In the desert, or in the villages; on the streets of tourist towns or in big cities like Varanasi, many, many persons passing on the streets say, "Hello" to us, or "Hi!", and occasionally there is a "Namaste" thrown in for good measure.  Many of the the greetings are indeed merchants bidding for one's attention in hopes of a possible sale.  Of course, sometimes it is the beggars using the one word of English they know to direct your attention to an outstretched hand.  But more often than not, it is simply a shy child practicing their English, or a playful teen making contact with a foreigner.  Sometimes for me, it is a woman seeing and greeting another woman in their shared sisterhood across a gulf of dissimilar cultures. And sometimes it is just men being flirty.......... like this one:

COMING OUT OF A HINDU TEMPLE

But whatever the primary motivation for greeting us, there is always a sense of open cheerfulness which I have only ever found before in small town Midwest America.  It is both refreshing and overwhelming at times to be so noticed and seen; especially in big, busy cities.