After a couple of nights in Jodhpur I got the overnight sleeper train (btw, forget sleeping, surrounded by men snoring) to Jaisalmer which is in the desert close to the border of Pakistan. I wanted to do a couple of days camel safari, look at the desert, stars etc, but once I arrived I had developed such a bad cough/cold and, as the temperature has been dropping to almost zero at night I changed my mind and have booked into a hotel next to the fort called Mandir Palace (which is the former city palace) instead. Check out the pics of my crib (eat your heart out Emma)!!!
I found a really good guide called Laxman who is Rajput - this is a pic of him next to his favourite ancestor, see the resemblance?
Jaisalmer is basically a city in the desert with living fort and town of about 40,000 - all very Arabian Nights!
This city/fort is totally made of the local yellow (Jurassic) sandstone, everywhere you go you see polished sandstone with the little fossils and the Havelas, or mansions are all carved sandstone creating this wonderful museum city of winding streets and archways.
This has been an excellent place to stay, very friendly, great accommodation and restaurants, very laid back - the narrow roads are clean, apart from the endless piles of cow dung which make it precarious as one minute you‘re looking up and admiring the architecture and the next scanning for disaster. Look - I found a bat world in the haveli!
My nose and chest has been bunged up for days and the desire to join everyone else in the snorting and gobbing morning marathon is becoming more and more attractive by the day.
The collection of Jain temples, tucked away in the back of the fort was just amazing, when I saw the main statue, it was such a happy thing, it bought tears to my eyes.
Tried Tibetan food for the first time, Momos are great, like dim sum, but everything else on the menu was a noodle soup and the waiter couldn’t tell me what the difference between them was. I would really like to come back and do the desert safari for say, 5 days. If anyone else visits, you must stay at Killa Bhawan in the fort - I couldn‘t get a booking.
