Blogs from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 36

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Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer March 11th 2006

The end of our eighth week sees us leaving the 'Golden City' of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, under cloudy skies with a few showers. According to the Nepali waiter in the rooftop restaurant overlooking the desert, it hasn't rained here since last year. Indeed, this outpost town only 100 kms from the Pakistan border is surrounded by bone-dry desert and little that is green. The clouds today are unusual as is the lightning and thunder. The five hundred year-old fort at Jaisalmer is built of yellow sandstone on a huge rock of the same material - hence the 'Golden City'. Included in the fort walls are the intricately carved stone palace, the homes of 300 or so families who have lived here since the beginning of the town, many colourful textile shops with dangerously beautiful goods and a ... read more
Kumbalgarh Fort 1
Kumbalgarh Fort 2
Jain Temple-Ranakhpur1

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer March 11th 2006

Was very surprised that the sleeper bus was so comfortable...managed to get some sleep, had a bit of a heads up to organise a single bed....which helped. Gutted as had left ipod off hold in my bag and the charge for the journey had played out through the afternoons sight seeing....5 songs got through! Still had enough for a few tunes to send me to sleep. Got to Jaisalmer at 5am...and decided to head to Fifu's guest house...hadn't made a reservation so no one up when I got there....after a few gentle taps it was time to bring out the big guns and knock the door down....did the job and soon after I was catching some z's Woke up to the serenity that is Fifu's, fantastic roof top with stunning views of the city. It's a ... read more
Jaisalmer Fort
Jaisalmer Fort
Jaisalmer Fort

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer March 10th 2006

We managed to hitch a 7 hour ride with Dave’s mate Omi, his pretend girlfriend and his taxi friend Mr Chan to Jaisalmer! Now after nearly a week in India and so many near misses in transit we had done extremely well to avoid any crashes on the road (apart from me on my bike!). Our car a 25 year old Ambassador was built like a tank. Half way up a mountain in Jodhpur, the law of averages was about to be proven! I’m just glad I was in the Ambassador as there was a tiny scratch and the other vehicle was wrecked. Nobody was hurt, I’m not sure what actually happened or whose fault it was, but Mr Chan Immediately jumped out of the car and bullied the other driver to the point of tears ... read more
Mr Ambassador, Mr Chan and Lucy

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer February 25th 2006

I was here from the 25th to the 27th of Feb - one day before my flight to Australia. Previously I'd planned to go to two other places in Rajasthan with Forts and then fly out but Jaisalmer, which had come highly reccommended, had an impressive fort and the opportunity of a camel safari so seemed like a better option. I re-routed everything and took the opportunity to travel with Becky and Fiona for a couple of days. It turned out to be the right choice as my last days in India were with good company (mostly good anyway) and my last real night in India was spent sitting round a fire in the desert singing songs and drinking beer. The camel safari was interesting but why people would choose to go for more than a ... read more
The Thar Desert
Adobe
Playing with the beatles

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer February 7th 2006

So rats to Bikaner and we head off once again on to the unknown, or to be more precise, what’s unknown could be just around the corner... One thing you do see traveling this way is the absolute poverty of the smaller villages and I just can’t understand how they survive. One thing that amazes myself and Suzanne is that you'll see someone in the absolute middle of no where quite content either working away or walking somewhere - and there's nothing (and I mean nothing) for miles, so where are these people going or where have they been - mind blowing... A few villages later and quite a few hours later we arrive just outside Jaislemer for a camel safari which includes a ride into the desert as well as spending a night below the ... read more
Steve and Suzanne riding camels
Suzanne riding
Steve and Suzanne on a camel

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer February 5th 2006

Arriving at the Jaisalmer railway station on 3rd Feb.,we booked our further reservations on trains. In five minutes we reached to the center of the town. We walked up the fort and found a suitable hotel with town view for 700 inR per night. Hotel and restaurants are serving beer in Jaisalmer. Hotel keeper arranged a camel tour for the next day, continuing to the sand dunes by jeep. We enjoyed the camel ride of four hrs. At lunch under a tree on the desert we gave a stop. Our camel man cooked for us a delicious meal. By the way we both of us learned to cook in small pots and the simplicity of life. I think we make the life hard. Gunay offered a piece of soap to the guide to make his hands ... read more
Jaisalmer Fort
our hotel
Indian Woman

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer February 3rd 2006

January 30 to Febuary 3 The western edge of India and close to Pakistan, daily, fighter jets ride low towards their rivals providing a little distraction from your supremely sore bum and legs courtesy of your drowsy camel. Yes, its about as touristy as you can get, booking a 3 day camel safari when 30 minutes would really do but I like to camp and eat sand with every meal. Loaded with an American, Australian and two Brits or rather one Brit and one Brit questioner or as Vijay later dubbed him, Britquizitive - questions ranging from days a camel can go without water (reasonable) to 'I see that camel pee flows backwards, how do they mate then?' (WTH?) We set off in a lazy circle around sand dunes, villages and beetle mating grounds. Besides a ... read more
Child on Leash
Beetle tracks
Fort top dining

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer February 3rd 2006

After Jodhpur we continued west through the Great Thar Desert, but turned off before Jaisalmer to a small town to the south called Thuri. The road was a single lane of pavement, but fortunately traffic was sparse. We pulled into a tourist lodge, with very simple huts and tents, an attempt to provide a rustic experience for tourists. The asking price for accommodation and camel tour was quite outrageous, but we managed to get it down to a more reasonable - but still pricey by India standards - rate. The all-inclusive amount included accommodation (sleeping out under the stars), meal, and camel rides south to an area of dunes (the arabs call these areas Ergs). I think some tourists equate dunes with desert, and this is why the big fuss. Later we were entertained by local ... read more
Sister and brothers in the kitchen
Resting on the sand dunes
Ramparts of the Jaisalmer Fort

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer January 26th 2006

Hello ! We are now back in Johdpur after visiting Jaisalmer and the desert on camel back! owever, I just saw a holy cow munching its way through a very large cardboard box, and it occured to me that I dont even think it is wierd anymore to see cows strolling through markets looking at the veg, laid down in the middle of roads having a sunbathe, and even walking upstairs to have a nose into the restaurants! (It's quite strange what people have as holy things - especially when they add so much aroma to the streets!) The fort in jaisalmer is full of shops and houses and restaurants giving it a wonderful old-world feel as you wander around the maze of streets trying to avoid cow pats and basking dogs. The atmosphere here is ... read more
Desert!
Holy Cow!
Safari Sass!

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaisalmer January 26th 2006

We have spent the last couple of days in Jaiselmar, a little place that rises like a big sandcastle out of the Great Thar Desert, near the Indian border with Pakistan. Our first day there was spent exploring the fort, which sits on the top of the sandy mound and houses families, restaurants etc. The place is seriously crumbling and quite large chunks have fallen off in recent years. This does turn a drink in a rooftop cafe there into a bit of a 'living-on-the-edge' experience! We had an Italian day yesterday, eating pizza and pasta for lunch and dinner. It was our first departure from curry and quite a welcome relief in a way. Later on we wandered around the stalls and shops and spent waaaay too long in one particular place which had the ... read more
Camel-eye view
Sunset




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