Blogs from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 37

We made it to Jaisalmer. The sleeper bus was fine and we transferred to a normal bus in Jodhpur; which, as we've become use to, was late to leave and late to arrive. This happens because the bus stops for approximately 30 minutes every hour and a half without fail (only the private buses, not government buses) and stops to make pick-ups and drop-offs through out. So every bus ride is pretty much twice as long as it should be. Our connecting bus in Jodhpur started with an argument between all the tourists and the Indian bus guy; this included myself the American (Jill somehow slept through this), a German guy, a French family and an Isreali couple (there were Koreans up in there, but they stayed out of it). The details of the argument are ... read more

Just arrived in Jaisalmer and the hotel isn't a patch on the lovely restored havelis/palaces we've been staying in so far on the tour. The rest of the group are saying things like "it's disgusting and filthy, I wouldn't let my dog stay here"; Steve and I nod, mumble agreement and privately remember the dumps that we seek out and check in to around the world just to save on a few euros/shekels/rupees! The view to the rear of the hotel is of a patch of rock-strewn scrubland inhabited by five cows, a wild pig and a crow. The crow sits on the back of the pig as it wanders about and pecks at the pig's bum. When the pig takes a poo, the crow stands underneath, open-beaked, not wanting to miss anything. You don't see ... read more

Namaste! I am sitting in a roof-top computer room at Shahi Palace, from where I can look up and see the huge golden fort of Jaisalmer. After finishing my email yesterday in Jodhpur, Gareth and I left our bags under the kind watch of the owner of the internet cafe and walked towards the clock tower which marks a central part of the market area below Meherangh. We strolled around, and were constantly pestered to buy everything from fruit to plastic buckets and sarees. I did stop in at a shop to look at the salwar kameez, and purchased a white and blue one for 450 rupees. We walked around for another half hour while the sleeves were sewn on (they are fitted to your own preference), and then returned. I had a great time showing ... read more

Finally a hotel with unlimited hot water! Unfortunately the shower is another one that is reluctant to emit water in anything other than a dribble, so I got another chance to practise my bucket bath technique. As I left my room, I bumped into the Canadian guy, who explained conspiratorially that he had already told Jitu that the evening's entertainment had been overpriced. I spoke with Fifu later, and he was very fair about it all. In fact he even asked me to name my price, and I suggested 50% of the cost, which he accepted. This was not the only demonstration of good service that I had during my stay. I went over to Jaisalmer Fort today. It towers over the rest of the town, and appears to be hewn out of the solid sandstone ... read more

Hello We took the tour bus to Jaisalmer. We took a walking tour of the city and went to the Holy lake where a prostitute had built a palace down by the lake for herself. Crazy, this was hundreds of years ago, and I guess she was really rich.. the royalty didn't like it and ordered it destroyed, but no one would. We wandered around the old city and saw some really old huge beautiful homes. We then went to Amber Fort. This fort was really different as about 4000 people still live in it. There are hotels, restaurants, shops, tons of people, it was really cool to see a fort in a different way. The city is all built from yellow rock and it looks gold especially from the fort when you look down onto ... read more