Jaisalmer: The Golden City and The Golden Desert

We arrived at Jaisalmer, the Golden City, in the early AM by overnight bus. It’s nicknamed the Golden City because of the yellow sandstone used in every building in the city, making it a monochromatic backdrop against the bright red sarees and turbans sported by the locals.
When we got out from the bus at sunrise, the city lived up to its name – the city just shined brightly, too bright at that point for us. You see we decided we would take the more expensive sleeper bus which gave us a compartment to lay down in with our own AC. However, looking back we had made the poor decision of choosing the top deck which at many times during the night had us slipping and sliding and rolling all over each other as if we were on a water slide. We had had little sleep and this was some wake up call at 6am. (sunglasses please)
Getting out of the sleeper bus and waking up in the middle of the desert coming from the mountain areas of lush Udaipur definitely let us know that we were somewhere new. But we were still in the state of Rajasthan, the land of Kings. And one of Rajasthan’s most popular cities.

Our bus bunk

Trying to sleep

At our arrival: giant sandcastle, Jaisalmer Fort/Golden Fort above the city

Everywhere you looked was golden sand and dust. We were picked up from our hostel and when we arrived we went straight up to the roof to look out to the fort which resembled a giant sandcastle. Down below, children were playing in the street and dogs, pigs and cattle were walking about among centuries old golden buildings.

Breakfast on roof, man, it’s bright

Once the sun had fully risen it got hot and we sought refuge under hanging sheets which shaded the rooftop. One of the workers came to us and asked us if we had planned to do a camel safari. We confirmed and noted we thought we might go the following day since it had been a long night for us, however he explained that he had a group ready to go today and that they were not sure about the following day, so we quickly decided to leave our pleasant roof, unpack, re-pack for our overnight,, place our bags in storage and head to the market in town. We were on the hunt for a red scarf for me and a red turban for Aaron – the necessary accessories aboard your camel.

Aaron being fitted for his turban; fabric is about 6 feet long

We also picked up a bottle of Indian red wine for the night in the desert and headed back quickly to our tour. Our jeep was ready to go as we arrived back so we grabbed our bags and headed out. Our group consisted of four German girls and an Aussie guy. Us seven, along with two guides headed out to the middle of the desert, to ride on the back of a camel and sleep in the middle of sand dunes under the stars.
But first we made stops to the a local village, a small pond in which locals would walk miles for for a few pots of water, and a ancient Indian ghost town. History says that this ghost town place was once a flourishing town which had to be deserted when a King decided he would marry a daughter of a holy/religious man who lived in the city and would not give his permission to let the King marry her. Because the King explained to this father that he will get what he wants, the father packed up the whole town and deserted it, knowing the King would come back for his daughter. It was an incredible ruin and you could tell how hard it must have been for the habitants to leave, it was a bit spooky too.

Brightly dressed women drawing water from the pond

Me, in the village

The ruins of the ghost town

Atop one of the old Havelis of the abandoned town

Now off to pick up our camels and take them out to the dunes to the peaceful quiet and emptiness of the desert. The great escape from busy, noisy and crowded India. So off we went in a line of camels with nothing but our shadows and the sand around us. The ride itself was surprisingly comfortable. Much more comfortable than our riding on elephants, even horses for that matter. The camels moved slowly but we did see our guide take off to a trot a couple times, including a time when one of our fellow riders was ejected from his camel when his camel became so itchy it bent down to lay on and scratch his back.

All aboard

Shadow casting in the desert

When we arrived at camp we made ourselves comfortable atop a dune, drank our freshly made chai and played in the sand as the sun set, as our dinner was being prepared below the dunes.

The way we exit

Saying goodnight, before setting up camp

Drinking chai

Playing in the sand

Sunset over the dunes

Night

We had dinner by campfire and hung out as our guide strummed on his sitar and sang. Here we were people from different languages, from 4 different continents singing American folk songs like “Country Roads.” It felt so comfortable and so natural it was hard to believe we were still in India, but every now and then you’d hear a camel cry out.

The guide had made up our bed farther away from camp for the “love birds.” Falling asleep was actually my favorite part of the safari. Across beds and under blankets, total silence and a dark sky full of stars, nestled in sand. It was magical. The morning was almost as good as I woke up before anyone and took a walk by myself in the dark with just a bit of light. I then woke Aaron up and the two of us took a walk through the dunes and chatted until sunrise. We came back, went back to bed and an hour later were woken up to coffee and breakfast.

Our beds in open desert

Taking a walk

Chilling out

Fresh morning dune designs from the nights wind

Just a camel in the distance

Unlikely paradise

After breakfast we brushed our camels, packed our stuff and jumped back on. A few hours later our crew met us by jeep. We thanked our musically inclined guides, pet our camels goodbye, and headed back to the city…I could use a shower.

Waking up our camels; yes they sleep lying down

Singing to them; they sing back!

Getting them packed up

Ready to go

Camel chain back; our guide singing

Life’s rough; my camels expression as I get off

Heading back to the city in the jeep; Aaron still in headdress

The next day we explored the city and it’s main attraction: the fort. But before we did there was something, somewhat legendary, that we had to do. I won’t go into too much detail but it’s a Jaisalmer tradition to drink a Bhang Lassi while there. We went to the famous lassi shop and was greeted by the friendly owner of 15 years who walked us through the various Bhang Lassi options that included varieties flavor and levels of “power.” I got an exotic rose Lassi – BABY style, Aaron opted for a mango Lassi – medium style. Neither of us felt any different, but I guess that’s much better than feeling too much. There are STORIES!

Here it goes

If you are interested, this shop was visited by Anthony Bourdain’s show, No Reservations Rajasthan episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEhXjnoGriI

At the fort we picked up another audio guide which painted the picture of the majestic palace life of the Kings and the Kingdom they once ruled. The views were awesome as we were on top of the city looking out to miles of sand.

The fort

The views

The palace roofs

Playing Princess

It does feel like you are walking on a life sized sandcastle

After the fort, we walked through the streets where we had lunch above on an exotic rooftop and Aaron picked up a game of badminton in the street with some local kids. Around town dozens of old mansions, known as havelis, once owned by wealthy merchants and holy men, could be spotted from the streets. They were lavish and gorgeous, much design and influences from Islam, India, and Asian architecture. The streets were filled with storybook characters from Arabian nights: fortune tellers, flute and sitar players, and wise men. I was told that next year was to be my lucky year, as I would turn 33, 3 being a lucky number in India. I told the wise man, “I feel pretty lucky now.”

Walking the city streets

A Haveli

Aaron playing with local kids

Women in their brightest reds

Feather man

Musician

That evening we headed by train to our last city in Rajasthan: Jodhpur, The Blue City.