Blogs from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 7

Jaipur was a memorable experience and now I was excited to see more of Rajasthan. Next on my list was Jaisalmer which is approx. 575 km from Jaipur and takes 8 – 9 hours. Jaisalmer is the city of sand dunes and I wanted to try out the camel safari that I had heard so much about. Since I wanted to see the expanse of the desert, I decided to go by road and rented a car with a driver. Since this was going to be a long trip, I took a 6-pack Godfather Strong along. Cars along with driver who can act as guides are available from private rental car companies and even the State tourism Department. I decided to take the car and driver, from the State Tourism Department. Beni Prasad, my driver was ... read more

We left Delhi at the rather disagreeable time of 05.15am, though I actually woke up at 04.00am. Having gone to bed the previous night at 2.00am this was a challenging beginning to what would be a rather long and challenging drive. We travelled 480km from Delhi to Bikaneer in just over 13 hours! It was a long difficult and uncomfortable day but it did at least allow me to get to know some of the group members better. Saying that though, for the last few hours of the drive I put my headphones and listened to the ipod as I had hit the ‘wall’ and didn't have the energy to do anymore talking. A quick pointless note, when I refer to the ipod, I call it 'the' Ipod as it is actually mums and not mine. ... read more

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A fairytale vision in the desert gives way to tourist traps, crumbling facades and muck on the dusty city streets. Somewhat reluctantly we “cough up” the 600 Rupee entry fee and mandatory camera charge then head into the modest “Palace” complex armed with audio guide. Short on accessible buildings and museum displays the palace has honed the mythical angle of its history, quickly dispenses with the rudimentary “palanquin, sword, throne” and filling the void with fabulous fabrication and speculation. Is that stone swan really drinking pearls of milk flowing from the lactating mother’s breast down her lustrous locks? With aplomb the dearth of artifacts is compensated for through flights of fancy. Exhibits holding the greatest promise: stamp, coin and sword collection, were apparently behind securely padlocked doors and on enquiry the indolent attendant replied, “17, ... read more

We started our morning at Krishna Guesthouse with a breakfast of four pieces of white toast, one chapatee, butter, lovely jam, and coffee that I could not drink due to some spices in it. Just a matter of taste though, not bad coffee. I wasn't impressed with breakfast, but overall, our stay at Krishna was good and a good price I think for all that was included (2400Rs for two people). After breakfast we packed up and drove the 40km to Jaisalmer. Hardev suggested we use a guide and given the size of the old city, we agreed. It is the best way to cover a lot of ground in a day. He introduced us to Padem and he seemed knowledgeable and spoke excellent English, so we hired him for the day not knowing how much ... read more