Showing posts with label Jaisalmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaisalmer. Show all posts
19 November 2009
18 November 2009
In the desert with Mr Desert
Jaisalmer lies at the edge of the Great Thar Desert and one of the most popular activities is to go on a Camel safari. When Liz was last in India she did a bum numbing, thigh burning, three day trek. In light of the pain that this caused she advised a much shorter half day trip this time.
We booked our trip with Sahara Travels run by Mr Desert (real name Mr Bissa), who runs a tour company and is also a bit of a local celebrity.
We started our trip by taking a jeep into the desert where we were given brief operating instructions before heading out into the dunes.
Steering was fairly simple but I appeared to have been lumbered with a very greedy camel who could barely pass a piece of scrub without stopping to eat it. He appeared to have a severe case of the munchies!
He was also appeared to be affected by a heavy cold as he kept throwing his head back and blowing thick gooey camel snot into the air. This however paled into insignificance when Liz's camel managed to blow a maggot out of its nose!!!
After two hours on camel back we dismounted to explore the sand dunes on foot as the sun set.
Whilst dinner under the stars was being prepared we gathered around the camp fire to hear the story of how Mr Bissa became Mr Desert, the poster boy of Rajasthan, the face of Jaisalmer Cigarettes and the star of a Coca Cola advert.
Once the sun set we we treated to a fantastic curry under an incredibly starry sky. A great end to a the day before we jumped back into the jeep and headed back to our hotel.
Some of the people on the trip where doing an overnight stay sleeping out under the stars. It sounds very romantic and great fun but when we left at half nine in the evening it was bitterly cold and they only had blankets for protection. Some of the people appeared to be quite horrified when they found out that they weren't sleeping on a bed in a tent! As if they weren't worried enough, just as we were leaving one of them had their bag stolen by a wild dog who was after the biscuits that were inside it.
We booked our trip with Sahara Travels run by Mr Desert (real name Mr Bissa), who runs a tour company and is also a bit of a local celebrity.
We started our trip by taking a jeep into the desert where we were given brief operating instructions before heading out into the dunes.
Steering was fairly simple but I appeared to have been lumbered with a very greedy camel who could barely pass a piece of scrub without stopping to eat it. He appeared to have a severe case of the munchies!
He was also appeared to be affected by a heavy cold as he kept throwing his head back and blowing thick gooey camel snot into the air. This however paled into insignificance when Liz's camel managed to blow a maggot out of its nose!!!
After two hours on camel back we dismounted to explore the sand dunes on foot as the sun set.
Whilst dinner under the stars was being prepared we gathered around the camp fire to hear the story of how Mr Bissa became Mr Desert, the poster boy of Rajasthan, the face of Jaisalmer Cigarettes and the star of a Coca Cola advert.
Once the sun set we we treated to a fantastic curry under an incredibly starry sky. A great end to a the day before we jumped back into the jeep and headed back to our hotel.
Some of the people on the trip where doing an overnight stay sleeping out under the stars. It sounds very romantic and great fun but when we left at half nine in the evening it was bitterly cold and they only had blankets for protection. Some of the people appeared to be quite horrified when they found out that they weren't sleeping on a bed in a tent! As if they weren't worried enough, just as we were leaving one of them had their bag stolen by a wild dog who was after the biscuits that were inside it.
17 November 2009
Jaisalmer - the golden city
After pink and blue, our final coloured stop in Rajasthan is the golden sandstone city of Jaisalmer.
The town grew to prominence as an important link on the overland camel train routes between India and the Middle East. The wealth that this generated enabled the town's merchants to build some grand, elaborately carved havelis.
The town is dominated by the massive sandstone Jaisalmer Fort which looks like a giant sand castle sat on a hill in the middle of the city.
Inside the fort, which dates from the 12th century, it's a maze of narrow twisting streets full of the usual Indian hustle, bustle, bazaars, temples and cows.
I think we've seen enough forts now after the last few weeks!
The town grew to prominence as an important link on the overland camel train routes between India and the Middle East. The wealth that this generated enabled the town's merchants to build some grand, elaborately carved havelis.
The town is dominated by the massive sandstone Jaisalmer Fort which looks like a giant sand castle sat on a hill in the middle of the city.
Inside the fort, which dates from the 12th century, it's a maze of narrow twisting streets full of the usual Indian hustle, bustle, bazaars, temples and cows.
I think we've seen enough forts now after the last few weeks!
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer
Last night we caught the overnight sleeper train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, giving Paul and Sarah their first taste of sleeping on the Indian rail network.
We were traveling in the three tier A/C sleeper car which we appeared to be sharing with half of the Indian Army.
We had a nice welcome when we arrived at Jaisalmer Station in the very early hours of this morning. A cow was stood in the middle of the arrivals hall, looking very pleased with itself, having just finished a big poo all over the floor.
We were traveling in the three tier A/C sleeper car which we appeared to be sharing with half of the Indian Army.
We had a nice welcome when we arrived at Jaisalmer Station in the very early hours of this morning. A cow was stood in the middle of the arrivals hall, looking very pleased with itself, having just finished a big poo all over the floor.
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