After leaving Bikaneer a little bit late in the morning it was a race against time to make it to Jaisalmer in order to see the sunset. I was as sick as a dog after drinking a suspect chai tea offered to me the day before. Along the way the bumpiness of the road did nothing to help my already unsettled stomach. Around about 5 we arrived in the small village of Khuri where we were to do our camel trek. As the sun was not far from setting we were quickly ushered to the beasts and hopped on as they lurched to life (hoping like hell I wouldn't fall off). A small boy guided the camels by ropes attached to there nose rings. We could see the sun setting as we made our way to the dunes so the boy whipped the camels into a canter, this was about as much as I could handle my stomach felt like it could evacuate its contents at any moment (and did so on the way back). Eventually we reached the dunes in the knick of time and were able to take some photos just before the sun went down. It was a very mesmerizing sight. Being out in the middle of nowhere we thought we had escaped the tipping and asking for money, however there were still people trying to offer us beers (the last thing I felt like) and play the drums for us in order to get a tip. We wanted them to just go away, but they were persistent. Some kids even tried to massage my neck seeing I was feelin sick in order to get a tip. After the sun went down a beautiful orange glow lingered on the horizon as we made our way back to the hotel. We decided to stay in a room rather than out in the desert as planned due to the need for flushing toilets. After surviving the night we got up early in the morning and walked the way we had trekked by camel the previous day to watch the sunrise. This was equally if not more impressive then the sunset and is something I will never forget.
After leaving Khuri a short drive brought us back into the golden city of Jaisalmer. We were looking forward to the pool as advertised in the hotel, but for the second time we were disappointed as it was empty. Lesson: don't expect anything in India, if anything expect the unexpected! We were then given a friendly tour guide by our driver who took us to Fort Jaisalmer. Jaisal was the name of ruler at the time the fort was built around 800 years ago and mer is the name of the hill on which the fort is situated. Interestingly the fort is entirely made of sandstone interlocking blocks with no mortar. The fort provided some amazing views and a real insight into what it must've been like to live 800 years ago as it is still inhabited today by 5000 residents. Some of the old buildings were absolutely amazing. I could have sat up at the top of the fort and looked out over the city for hours if it wasn't for the searing heat. Next we ventured into the city to have look at some more Haveli, one of which had 3 kg of gold and 6kg of ivory inlaid in the ceiling. A good investment if you ask me. I might consider this for my future house. Walking up the stairs I got the fright of my life as the ceiling was covered in literally hundreds of bats. I thought I better not make any sudden moves and slowly turned around and went the other way. After this we retired to the comfort of the hotel A/C for a few rum and cokes with our driver to reflect on an awesome day.
Our driver Babloo
Streets of Jaisalmer
Gold and Ivory ceiling
Sunrise
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