Blogs from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 14

Our arrival into Jaisalmer was not as expected. We had planned to walk to the fort and find the accommodation we had earmarked for that night, inside the walls of the fort itself. However, 2 stops before our disembarkation on the outskirts of town a couple of ''locals' got on and started inviting us to take their company car to our accommodation for 20rs. We initially refused, used to scams like this, but on the 4th enquiry and reassurance they would take us straight there we agreed (a decision coloured by the approach of the fort which was quite a climb away). We should have stuck by our first decision. On nearing the fort entrance they guys started telling us about a family run place near to where we were heading for only 150rs a night, ... read more

Jaisalmer city has been enriched by its Jain community which has adorned the city with beautiful Jain temples most notably the temples dedicated to 16th Tirthankar Lord Shantinath and 23rd Tirthankar Lord Parshvanath. Jaisalmer boasts some of the oldest libraries of India which contain rarest of the manuscripts & artefacts of Jain tradition. This group of fine Jain temples were built in the 12th to 15th century within the Jaisalmer Fort. They are beautifully carved and dedicated to Rishabdevji and Sambhavnathji. The Gyan Bhandar, a library containing some extremely old manuscripts, is within the temple complex. The temples are open till 12 noon. ... read more

We paid in advance for a double sleeper berth on the 'deluxe' overnight coach to Jaisalmer, and sit waiting by the side of the road covered in dust from the constant stream of trucks trundling past. When it pulls in at 11pm it is far from deluxe and already jammed full of people...three people squeeze into seats for two and even the floor space is knee deep in slumbering bodies, and it smells like it's been this full for many hours already. The ticket guy assures us he will have our sleeping berth empty and ready for us in no time. We watch as, like some awful magic trick, a family sleepily emerge, one after the other, from our cabin. There are at least 3 adults and 5 kids squeezed in there, and I feel bad ... read more

Jaisalmer is on the far west of India close to Pakistan. It rises out of the surounding Thar Desert and its mighty sandstone fort, built in 1156, towers over the town like a fairytale sandcastle. This is the land of turbans where the men have large, curly moustaches and look like characters from Aladdin and the women, dressed in bright sarees have faces decorated with golden piercings. Jaisalmer is an ancient and magical town with wonderfully grand old architecture, bustling bazaars selling mysterious items and at its centre is the magnificent fort which harbours a palace and various temples and havelis all hidden around the warren of narrow streets carved from the near edible sandstone. It is a 'golden city of dreams', the centre of a once powerful and wealthy desert kingdom and is now the ... read more

Jaisalmer express from old delhi to jaisalmer arrived almost an hour late at the platform. we were in 2nd ac coach number A1. we rushed to the only second ac coach with our heavy luggage but the door was locked. the coach has AE written on it with chalk. we went to the other end of the coach hoping there was a reservation chart on it, but there was none and it was locked too. after some bumpy to and from motion from one end of the coach to another in which we frequently lost sight of each other and kept in touch by shouting in the crowd i finally managed to find a railway official who confirmed that AE was A1 and some angel opened the door. count on the indian railways to make your ... read more