Golden city Jaisalmer and camel safari

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Train ride from Jaipur to Jaisaimer







We left the hotel room in Jaipur at around 10 o ´clock at night to walk to the train station to catch a sleeper train to Jaisaimer. With Kyle´s compass and his awesome sense of directions we walked through the alleys of Jaipur all the way to the station. We saw our train announced on the board and as most trains in India it was late. We actually checked the status of our train with a website Kyle found which was very reliable. Our train arrived and we got in found our berths, we had the top (for Kyle) and the middle one (for me). It was a smooth ride, but I did not sleep much as I was worried we would kept sleeping and miss our stop which in the end turned out to be the last one, but we did not know this.







Our train rolled into jaisaimer at around 8-9 AM. We got off and went to look for a taxi or rickshaw. Knowing that we were going to be harassed by tuk tuk or rickshaw drivers we decided we simply wanted to go into the city and find an agent to do a camel safari. A young guy stopped us and said he would take us to his family hotel and give us information for free about their camel safari we were a little skeptical, but we gave it another try. I guess 3 is the charm. So we drove in a jeep to the hotel.







From the short 20 minute ride we could see that Jaisaimer was a small city and in a way it looked like a small dusty town. It literally had only one main street that lead to train station and then a couple of smaller streets surrounding the fort. Our hotel was at the end of one of the streets and we could see the fort from the roof. We got in and after saying no to chai being offered because we knew that it was a trick to get us to buy their tour we finally were given the information about the tour. The guy in charge of the office was really into sales and he was determined to make us buy their tour. When we said the price was too high and were about to leave he automatically lowered it to 50%!a(MISSING)nd said that if we did not like it he would refund 100%!o(MISSING)f the money. YEAY right?! So we accepted when he said 1500 rupees instead of the 2500 rupees he had said in the beginning. The tour will also give us a room for the day before and after the tour to shower and change and the transfer to the start of camel safari.







Camel safari back to jaisaimer







We got our room, which did not have hot water and we had to request a heater plus use Kyle´s too to have a warm bucket shower because it was chilly. It had been raining in jaisalmer for the last couple of days. We chilled for a bit in the room and at 2 o´clock we were ready to go. We got some juice and snacks and headed into the van, which would take us into the desert. The tour guide had said there was an Australian couple who were going to o with us, but when the van arrived we only saw an Indian young and old couple and so we started to wander if the tour was really what they had sold us. We drove for maybe 20 -30 minutes to a temple which we were supposed to see, but decided it was too small and not worthy the large amount of fee for tourist to pay and so we walked to a small village nearby where some Indian gypsies lived. As soon as the little kids saw us they ran to us and started asking us for money, pens, juice, cookies, my scarf and my flashlight. It was a little overwhelming for me because as I am an Elementary teacher little kids begging always break my heart and it is a painful thing to see. I wanted to give them my pen, flashlight cookies and juice, but I knew that by giving them those things I was not solving any problem. So I managed to say no no no and walked looking straight and ignoring the little kids. However the kids were really intense and a few of them grabbed me by my backpack and arms and surrounded me that I really felt bad and literally harassed. Kyle had to come and sweep the kids away from me. We walked back to our van and hopped in to ride a few more kilometers to where the camels were waiting. We spotted our camels and just like I remembered them from Mongolia, they were majestic and actually taller, bugger and even more impressive. I got on mine and Kyle got on his. Kyle´s camel was tied to mine and the guide was holding a rope to guide mine. We traveled for about 1.5 hours going through dirt and sandy areas with very small vegetation or no vegetation at all and then turned towards the sand dunes were we ran into another groups of camels being herd by an Indian man. We reached the sand dunes where we were camping for the night around 5 o clock in the afternoon and so we walked around to se the sunset and wait for another group of foreigner tourist who were also camping with us. We were sitting down on the sand dunes enjoying a cool breeze and he last warm sun rays of the day when we spotted the other tourist group arriving with their camels. When the guides whistled to us to go to our camp site for dinner we met the others and it turned out they were a lady and her son from Argentina and a young German guy. We chatted for a bit, Kyle had a beer and the rest had chai as we ate dinner on a very small bonfire and chatted. The night was a beautiful deep blue sky with many stars to see and the peaceful quietness of the desert made it a perfect night to sleep under the stars. However as we all know in the desert the cold air comes at night and cools down the temperatures. Well it was one of the coldest nights I have ever had! I was wearing my running leggings, two pairs of socks, my hiking pants, a tank top, t shirt, long sleeve, jacket, scarf, hat, gloves and even shoes and I still was freezing. I hardly slept during the night. The Argentinean lady noticed how bad I had slept and she actually made some comments on how cold it was.







The next morning we woke up at around 9 after a very LONG and COLD night and had Indian breakfast and chai with the group. After packing our stuff we got on our camels and headed out to explore more of the desert and go near the Indian army based ONLY 20 Kms. away from the Pakistan-Indian border. This time the guide tied my camel to his, but gave Kyle the reigns of his camel for him to ride it and control it on his own. I was happy to have a kind of ¨kiddie ride.¨ Kyle was an amazing camel rider. He would make the sound to make the camel move and even though at first he was going slow after a few minutes walking he got the right sound and actually made the camel trot and gallop for a little. We traveled through some sand dunes and pastures it was very arid and dry vegetation with very few signs of life. We passed along a few herds of camels and people going to town or back to their camps. Out of the blue a jet appeared in the sky and Kyle noticed it was an army jet. This was our sign we were in a frontier land. The land of ¨no one¨ although in the frontier between India and Pakistan this is not true, it is either India´s or Pakistan land! We were so closed that we actually saw and heard army jets swooping by. As we were traveling on our camels we came across another gypsy village and even though the guide warned us about not getting off the camels because the kids and women would harass us to give them stuff we decided to wander for a bit and take some photos. As soon as I put a foot on the sand a group of kids and women came to us. Asking where we were from, asking for money, tagging my flashlight and pointing to my juice bottle and cookies, etc. Soon the women started to play a small musical instrument and sing and dance what sounded like Indian music but reminded me of flamenco. It sounded so beautiful and the women dancing were amazing! It made me want to dance too! They all looked so beautiful with their jewelry, their saris and scarves. One of the younger women pulled me inside their circle and made me dance with them. Kyle was taking photos and watching from outside of the circle while the Latin American blood came out of me and I joined in the dance. Before we left they obviously wanted some money so we pulled out a few coins and gave them the bottle of juice and a few cookies. We parted on our camels for about 20 minutes until we found a paved rode and a car waiting for us. It was time for us to say goodbye to the desert. We arrived to the hotel around noon and left our bags in their storage and headed out to explore the city of Jaisalmer.







Jaisailmer fort







We headed up the street to find a way to the fort. We found a small neighborhood and a few stores around the area and started heading in through the alleys. It was all a dirt road occasionally there would be a paved or rocky road. As we walked through the narrowed alleys we noticed the houses were all made from stones, pebbles and rocks. They were all yellowish, sandy or golden. No wonder Jaisalmer fort is called The Golden city. We also noticed that all the houses had flat roofs and short walls. It made sense because Jaisalmer is located in the Rajasthan desert were water is not abundant and there are no threats to floods or heavy rains. There were very few trees as well occasionally we would see a small bush or tree or a few flowers, but in large quantities. The area where we were was mainly all residential. Small houses with doors open all the time, kind of what a small town looks like. People would be washing clothes outside their homes, cutting fresh vegetables and getting their food ready for the upcoming meal. We saw many little kids playing outside and every time we passed by they will come running to us and say hello hello hello. We reached a high point in the area from where we could see the city, the fort and surroundings. We stopped there to take a few photos and for Kyle to locate himself with his own internal and personal GPS and find the way to the fort. There was a staircase and so we headed down. On our way down we saw what looked like a baseball field, but it truly was a cricket very similar to baseball. I was so excited to find another similarity to Venezuela! We watched the game for a few minutes and then continued our way to the fort.







We walked through more alleys with lots of convenience stores and a few souveniers and we knew we were on the right track as we saw many tourists and tuk tuk drivers asked us if we needed a ride to the fort. We reached the main entrance, which was a steep hill with lots of vendors and sort of gypsy kind of people. I bought a few anklet brazelets and we headed into the fort.







First a few notes (from Wikipedia) about the Jaisalmer fort,











Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest forts in the world. It is situated in Jaisalmer cityn the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was built in 1156 AD by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rao Jaisal, from where it derives it name. The fort stands proudly amidst the golden stretches of the great Thar Desert, on Trikuta Hill, and has been the scene of many battles. Its massive yellow sandstone walls are a tawny lion color during the day, fading to honey-gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason, it is also known as the "Golden Fort".This fort, popularly known as the 'Sonar quila' by the locals, is located in the very heart the city, and is one of the most breathtaking monuments in the locality.







First we walked around the outer area of the fort. Taking shots of the wall, the city viewed from the fort and simply enjoying the nice cool breeze and warm sun. We went up to a few rooftops to watch the whole city of Jaisalmer. The fort wall was about 30-40 meters high and was made from golden sandy colored stones. It was a palace for the kings and their wives as well as a fort to secure them from the attacks of the enemies.Thsi fort was mostly the home of the Bhati Rajput clan and their mos fearful opponents were the Rathor clans of Jodhpur and Bikaner. We little outside area of the fort and decided to grab a few snacks and drinks and find a quiet place to chill, eat and rest. We found our spot up some rocks and climbed on them to sit down and enjoy a little picnic with a fantastic view of the city. We could see all Jaisalmer from above and hear very quiet from the distance the honks, people, shouting in the city. It felt relaxing to be so high and a little secluded and get away for a few hours from crazy, loud, chaotic and stressful India. We ate some of our favorite Indian snacks and juices and headed back to the fort to experience the inner areas. We walked around the small alleys and streets looking around for signs of old architecture and history. The fort had been restored and even though they kept the original architecture now you can find souvenier shops, convenience stores, restaurants most of which have a rooftop terrace and even small hotels inside the fort. We wandered exploring the streets of the fort and looking for souveniers and post cards. Around 4 o ´clock we went in an Italian restaurant and had a late lunch early dinner and chilled for a few hours drinking lassis, chai and chatting while using the wifi and enjoying the view of the city and the cool breeze that filled the air. We headed down around 5 30 to find a spot to watch the sunset and take some photos. Following Kyle´s trail we backtracked from the fort to the hotel trying to find a nice spot where we could watch the fort, sunset and city. When we reached the main street near our hotel we noticed there was a mountain and what looked like a coffee house on the top. We started to wander through the sides of a slump and some men told us to follow a path up a hill surrounded by shacks and huts all the way to the top to find the café. We followed it and reached the top of the hill. And there it was a coffee house. We sat down on a small pebble wall and the owner of the coffeehouse immediately wanted to get us to buy beer for an expensive price so we said no in a polite way and simply enjoy the view and the quietness of the moment. As the sunset was finishing we headed down to our hotel to get a warm shower and relaxed before our night train to Jodhpur. When we got to our hotel what a surprise the German and the Argentineans were also there. The woman was really pissed at the owner of the hotel because of the lack of good sleep and the cold blankets they provided. She actually wanted her money back and the guy, even though he also said to us that if we did not like the tour he would give the money back, he denied what he had said. We took a warm shower and went to the rooftop bar to eat some dinner and relax before heading back to the train station.

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