Would you like some desert sir?

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We left Mumbai for the culture rich state of Rajasthan and in the past week we've visited Jaipur, Jaisalmer, are now in Jodhpur (yes where the name of the riding trousers came from), and will be heading to Udaipur tomorrow afternoon.
Jaipur, the state capital, borders the eastern reaches of the Great Thar Desert which stretches far westward into Pakistan. The desert consists of tiny tribal villages dotted about and every hundred miles or so are fortified cities which all have one aspect in common -a dramatic sandcastle-like fort perched atop a rocky hill jutting out of the barren flat landscape. Within these forts are meandering cobblestone streets, centuries old mansions called havelis with intricate stone lattice carvings, and tiny ancient houses. There is a timeless feel walking within these forts even despite the tourist shops selling clothes, wall hangings, shawls, etc...the lifestyle and the shops have existed for centuries -it would seem only the wares have changed.
In Jaisalmer we stayed at the Artist hotel which is run by a colony of musicians (popular Rajasthani folk artists). A nice enough little hotel with a stunning panoramic view of the fort; in the evening on the rooftop terrace we had a private performance of traditional songs. After 2 days of wandering the streets and shopping for textiles we headed out 50kms west towards Pakistan for a mid-day camel ride and overnight in the open desert. What a fantastic experience! Just Emma, myself, the guide (Babu) and his little helper (Nanu) and 3 camels...not a single other soul around. Camels are incredible animals and despite there bad reputation for spitting, farting and belching (we all do it!) they are lovely, docile, and surprisingly pleasant to ride -moreso than elephants and, in my opinion, horses. We ambled around the sand dunes, watched the sunset, and set up camp sheltered between two dunes. Babu made us fresh vegetable curry, chapatis, and ample amounts of chai; we sat around the campfire and chatted before laying out our blankets for bed underneath an endless canopy of stars. Unfortunately as we were snuggling up for a goodnight's sleep the wind picked up and sand was soon penetrating every pore (and orifice) of our bodies...we ended up sleeping hiding beneath our blankets sporting sunglasses with shaws wrapped around our faces. We awoke before dawn and climbed to the top of a dune to have a truly romantic experience and watch sunrise over the desert. We left the desert after only the one memorbale night imagining how amazing it would be to do a much longer trek or to live like the Bedouin do constantly in the sand.
After a five hour bus ride crammed with locals across the desert we arrived in Jodhpur, the Blue City (originally painted blue because of the holy Brahmin caste that first lived here in honour of the blue colour of Lord Vishnu's skin which symbolizes the infiniteness of the sky and of his power). My lifelong favourite colour being blue i've long dreamed of seeing an entire city painted blue; however since arriving here we've seen little of the city...only the inside of an air conditioned room with cable television&room service showing cheesy Hollywood movies -it's important and necessary to rejuvenate one's self every few weeks whilst travellin'! Tomorrow we'll head up to the fort and explore the city before heading out to the place rumoured to be the most romantic town in India, Udaipur (the James Bond movie Octopussy was filmed here, can you get more romantic than that?!?)
Unfortunately there exists a direct inverse correlation between the temperature and the desire to be sat inside a stuffy shop in front of a computer (especially when aforementioned air conditioned hotel room awaits)..it's 42C today -so enough said.

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Photos

Emma chilling with the locals
..what's that kid looking at?

me not so composed
(yes i am atop a camel i assure you)

Nanu our helper
such a cool kid