Jaisalmer

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Dial-up connection to the internet today - I'd completely forgotten what this is like! Images are turned off, and pages are loading sloooowly.

End of our first week in India - feels like much longer since we've been on the go since we got here. We said good-bye to our driver at the entrance to the bazaar in Jaisalmer, feeling ready to strike off on our own!

We're in the desert! The drive from Bikaner to Jaisalmer was long and the roads were empty- we left at 7:00 in the morning and arrived at 12:30 or so in Jaisalmer. The scenery is what you would expect - flat and sandy with some brave bits of greenery poking through. Lots of army bases in the area too.

Jaisalmer is beautiful - a smaller city, golden from the sandstone used for the buildings and dominated by a massive fort. There's even a small oasis nearby!

We hiked our way up from the bazaar (backpacks and all! Wasn't so bad) to our hotel inside the fort! We decided to stay at the desert haveli, which we're finding quite comfortable - friendly staff, great food - 750 rupees a night for a larger room.

Wandered around the city yesterday, looking at the amazing Jain temples - posts and ceilings are covered in carvings and statues, and it's still a working temple, so the holy men were attending to their altars. Also wandered through the palace which was being restored - another stunning carved sandstone building, painted walls and some rooms covered in tiles from Holland, which seems to be a thing with the Maharajas around here. Lots of wonderful portraits and photographs of the royal family - fantastic moustaches! The roof of the palace has the best view of the city.

The rooftop patio of our hotel has a great view too. It's been a full moon recently, so the nights are bright and it's quite peaceful to sit out in the evenings and look out over the city.

In a day or two we're going to venture out into the desert on a camel safari!

-fsg

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Comments

[erin]

I can't believe how much you have seen and done already! the pictures are gorgeous and it sounds like you are having an amazing time! can't wait to read/see more of your adventures!