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Posted by Andy Jens
on 12/15/2008, 3:39 pm
59.92.143.8
I'm just back from a one-month trip to Rajasthan, the "Desert State" in Northwest-India: Exploring some of the most amazing forts I've ever seen (including Jaisalmere, Indias only LIVING fort, and Bikaner), visiting forgotten villages with beautifully painted houses (Havelis), strolling through ghost-towns which got abandoned many centuries ago, hiking in the desert... I had LOADS of fun, and the fact that I was (as usual) barefoot all the time made it an even more intense experience!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8450.jpg
Travelling barefoot is ALWAYS fun, no matter where I go. Now, Rajasthan is definitely a challenging destination, even for an experienced barefooter like me: It get's pretty hot at noon and chilly at night, there are quite a few weeds and scrubs with thorns, there's sharp gravel (basalt!)... And the streets in almost all of the cities, towns and villages aren't only dusty (often unpaved!) but also incredibly dirty. Plus: Literally EVERYONE is curious about foreigners, and whoever speaks even a bit of English won't hesitate to start a conversation, usually with "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?" - in my case followed by "What happened to / where are your shoes?". Well, that's not exactly new for me, and I'm happy to explain, especially as people ask in a friendly and polite manner and are - in most cases - positively surprised that a "farangi" prefers to go barefoot for the sake of comfort and health!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8386.jpg
While travelling, I've the habit of checking my soles for thorns and little splinters after a day of barefooting - it's usually one of the first things I do as soon as I return to my hotel or guesthouse. Carefully examining them, I soon realized: Things were different this time! They never got black - like, let's say, in Bangkok or Delhi. But they got dirty! A different colour every evening: Greenish, brown (light or dark), grey, with many stains - depending on whether I had spent my day in town, in the desert, a village... Plus: They got tougher and rougher than ever! New callouses developed... Even little cracks around my heels...
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8591.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8022.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8665.jpg
No doubt: Somebody who's used to wearing shoes all the time will worry a lot if he's taking a quick glance at my soles: My version of footwear - layers of "natural leather" - definitely looks different, and a few people might even get scared from merely imagining what kind of "ordeals" my bare feet must have endured... My own attitude is, of course, completely different! First of all: My soles always remind me of all those fellow barefooter I have met over the years - for, I'm definitely not the only one who LOVES barefooting! There was that Italian couple in Bangkok, both of them barefoot with evenly tanned, strong feet. They had spent six month in India before coming to Thailand and told me they "stayed bare" all the time. Guess what: Their soles looked exactly like mine... If you ask me: Tough, calloused and dirty soles are in fact THE symbol of "our tribe"! Whoever is an active barefooter has to accept that his soles will get dirty, and most of us don't mind. And I'm absolutely sure each of us is happy that his soles adjust quickly to the various challenges of our barefoot lifestyle, getting tougher day by day. I've countless friends - both online and in "real life" - who will wholeheartedly agree, and most of them don't hesitate to post pics of their equally experienced feet in online-forums and barefoot-groups!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_7845.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8596.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8585.jpg
Our soles tell a story - a tale of of a happy, carefree barefoot life! We've accepted to "be different" the moment we decided to free our feet from their prison, those little boxes made of the skin of dead animals or plastic... We don't mind if people gaze at our bare feet or our dirty soles... It's OUR choice, and we know what we're doing - and what they're missing!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_6925d.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_8039.jpg
The texture and colour of someone's bare soles tells me if he - or she - is serious about barefooting. And I might even be able to say what he/she has been up to recently - be it hiking, climbing or shopping! Going barefoot is cool and natural - NEVER feel shy about it!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_6964.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/barefootjens/IMG_6964d.jpg
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