Jaisalmer!

---

The sleeper to Jaisalmer was much better than expected and little was different to 3AC except for the huge ceiling fans instead of air conditioning. We had top bunks and got a reasonable amount of sleep despite the loud snoring of the man below. It also turns out playing music on your phone loudly on a train is annoying in any country. Got a really good vibe from Jaisalmer the second I stepped off the train at dawn and saw the impressive sandy fort on the hill where 25% of the towns population still lived. We were conscientious and decided to stay outside the fort as its middle aged water system cant cope with the amount of pressure put on it today and parts have collapsed. It's on the world monuments watchlist. Our hotel was fine though and only 300R a night and for the first time we had a telly so we fell asleep again that morning to catch up on sleep lost on the train whilst cracking up at the hilariously unsubtle hindi morning soaps!

We wandered around the fort that afternoon. Really an amazing place, bikes and rickshaws drive through the tiny little alleys even though theres only one tiny path/road in and out. Inside are hotels, little houses, old temples and havelis, interesting little shops and restaurants all crammed into a tiny maze of little streets. Its like a living museum, really cool place and with some fantastic views from the many vantage points from the walls! We booked ourself a jeep to take us out to the Sam sand dunes aout 30km away towards the Pakistan border to see sunset. It was only 150 each which was very reasonable although when we got within 2 km of the dunes the driver said it wouldnt go any further and we had the option to ride camels to the dunes for 150 or walk. Annoyed we went for the camel option which was quite good fun although screamed out touristy as we looked around and saw all the package tourists fresh off their busses doing the same. Mine was called Bablu and Katie's was called Lalu. The men spoke little English and when I asked if the camel was male or female I got a blank look, "Man or Woman" I tried again pointing at Bablu. "No! Camel!" Was the reply, brilliant! The dunes would have been stunning but were completely ruined. Over crowded, littered and filled with pesky local people trying their luck at making a few bob. Annoyed we went in search of a quieter, cleaner spot and watched what did prove to be an amazing sunset with camels in the foreground. We had a nice dinner with an Indian guy, aged 20, from Madras (Chennai) who was travelling Rajasthan himself. He had been international schooled and was very modern, we had an interesting chat about Indias politics and future etc.
For desert we had some 'special cookies' which were pretty tasty!

Next day we went up to 'Sahara Travels' run by the infamous Mr Desert - a bearded curly moustachioued man who had won the Mr Desert competition 5 years running so got the title for life. We booked a camel safari for 2 days 1 night for the next day for only 1000 each which was very good value for 2 days including all food drink etc! We spent the afternoon just browsing in the fort. I got myself a nice loose cotton shirt to combat the desert heat - It's up to about 30. Katie got some Indian style trousers. We spent the afternoon sheltering from the sun on some nice shaded bed style seats at a restaurant with a nice fort view reading Shantaram and trying chicken burgers Indian style. We got an early night in preparation for getting up at 7.45 to check out, have breakfast and get to Mr Desert for 9am. Apparently the hotel manager said he wouldnt have any room for the night we returned as a big French party was arriving which had been booked in for months. More likely we figured he was pissed off we didnt book safari through him!

We set off in a jeep into the desert, the morning heat was already amazingly strong! On the way we stopped at a half destroyed, deserted village with an amazing story. Maybe 150 years ago the evil prime minister of Jaisalmer found himself smitten with one of the women in the village. She didnt return the admiration. The PM said if her father didnt give her up in 2 weeks he'd destroy the village and enact revenge. In the middle of the night the entire place left their homes and headed for central asia. It was a complete ghost town and very strange! Noone reinhabited it as it was bad luck apparently! We finally reached our camels and our 2 turbaned local guides. There were 3 camels, Daniel - the smaller younger camel which katie rode. Simon - Who carried loads of gear and was a racing camel and Raju - A big brute of a camel for me to ride! We loved the english names of the others and decided Raju should be anglosised to Roger and he was known as such from then on! We stopped briefly in a local village where the camels drank and ate before we really headed out. Local children gave us a lot of attention laughing and asking for 'rupee', 'school pen' or 'chocolate'. Slightly annoying but was interesting to see life in a desert village. We rode for a few hours through the dry scrub and over peaceful dunes stopping for lunch under a shady tree on the side of a dune. Me and Katie read while the camel drivers rustled up a nice lunch of curried veg, rice and chapati on the fire. Very tasty! We rode again until we reached another peaceful set of dunes - it was fun but hard work on the arse! This was to be camp for the night and we chilled out and read a bit more, it was all very peaceful! We went off to see another amazing sunset from the tallest dune and returned to find 2 makeshift beds laid out on the sand for us - our bed for the night. After another nice meal and a chat with the nice guides around the fire we headed off and lay in our surprisingly warm beds and stared at the stars. It was very clear but the moon was very bright so couldnt see as much as the night I got off the bus! However we did see the brightest and clearest shooting star I've seen in my life. Philosophical coversation followed to suit the location until we fell into a really good sleep. It was the first time I've ever slept out in the open and it was a wicked experience!

Woke at the crack of dawn to see sunrise before we were served a nice breakfast of toast, eggs, jam and oranges with chai. We set off again in the heat - It was painful going on a bruised behind but I'd missed Roger. We had lunch under a nice shady tree again and relaxed and read. A dust devil flew over which was pretty weird! We got back to the jeep at about 5 feeling very ready for a shower but having enjoyed the experience a lot! Tipped the camel drivers and headed off back to Jaisalmer. We picked our bags up from the hotel and thought we'd at least ask if they had room as keys were clearly hanging but the owner said nope none availible even though there was a distinct lack of french people around. We headed for Gandhi Chowk - a busy area on the other side of the fort where we would surely find a room. We did fairly quickly at the hilariously named 'Hotel Swastika' which was only 300 again and comfortable enough. Even though the shower was pretty cold it was brilliant. Had dinner at Trio - the nice restaurant with fort view and enjoyed our last night in Jaisalmer. Second to Pushkar in favourite places so far. It just screams out its past as a wealthy spice, opium and silk trade route and is such a cool place to spend a few days.

This morning we rose early again for the horrible 9am check out time and had a quick breakfast before getting on one of the hourly busses to Jodhpur - the Blue City, with a population of 850k we're back to a big city! The bus ride costed 150R - 2 quid, was comfy and took about 5 hours which seemed like nothing although I'd dread such a journey at home. We passed dusty sandy desert although it slowly turned less deserty as we headed south and east 300km. At every stop in small towns people would run up to the windows trying to sell bottled water, fruit and deep fried snacks. Really funny! Arrived Jodhpur at about 4pm and grabbed a rickshaw to the Yogi Hotel which sounded happening and well placed. The driver asked for 40R which was a reasonable fare for the distance. We dont seem to be asked for outrageously inflated fares anymore. Maybe we're looking more savy and less goggle eyed at everything around us! Yogi only had one room and it was a nicer one at 650R. We said we would have to go somewhere else even though it seemed like a nice place but the man dropped it to 500R and promised a cheaper room tommorow. Fair enough! It has a really nice rooftop restaurant/bar with amazing panoramic views of the really nearby fort built into sheer rock of a cliff like hill. We spent the evening browsing the tiny little but hectic streets of walled Old Jodhpur. Theres an amazing busy market with hoards of bangles, shoes, clothes, brightly coloured spices, chilis and interesting looking vegetables. We've found an internet cafe which is pretty fast and I felt a bit behind with all this so here I am! Theres some pics up on the previous Bikaner blog too now. Getting pretty hungry and looking forward to dinner on the rooftop with one of Jodhpurs famous Saffron Lassis.
Miss Everyone - Keep In Touch! x

---

Photos

Jaisalmer Fort
From Trio Restaurant

Unashamed Pose!
Chilling my beer in the cold sand

Chilis!
In Jodhpur market

Comments

[Rich]

guuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyyssssssssssssssssssssssss, its looking awesome!! especially that desert man, geeez. im so jealous. uni sucks. weather sucks. hate football so you KNOW that sucks. England misses you both. keep on posting! xx

[Mike!]

Wow
So many questions! 1. What were the special cookies? If they're what I think they are, I hate you :P 2. I'm intrigued as to what the Mr Desert Competition would involve. Details please! 3. HOTEL SWASTIKA?! Crazy times, my friends, crazy times. By the way, you're reading the writings of a single Mike. Shock Shock Shock!