Jaisalmer 2011

It was time to hit the road again. We booked our Volvo bus tickets online on Saturday morning. The train was full up and we were 64 on the waiting list, so no point waiting there. At 5:30pm we reached IFFCO crossing to board our bus from Gurgaon. The bus journey was comfortable and we reached Jaipur by midnight. By 3am we were in Ajmer. By sunrise the topography had totally changed. We reached Osiyan at 8am and all we saw was flat white earth with thorn trees and plants. At 9am we were in Falodi and in Pokaran by 10am. The total journey was of around 900+ kilometers. Maybe if we had driven it would have been reduced by 200 odd km. We reached our hotel in Jaisalmer at 12pm. We crashed for the day and by next day we were all set to do the touristy thing.

We booked a tuk-tuk (three-wheeler rickshaw) for the day for Rs.600, which was a dumb thing to do when we realized that all the places to visit were well within walking distance! Nathmal ki haveli, Patwon ki haveli and Salam Singh haveli were well within 2 km from our hotel. Lunch was at at Ved meals- it was the residence of an elderly lady who prepares food in her own kitchen while you wait. The food was fresh, wholesome and, well, homemade- cooked in front of us. Lessons learnt for day 2!

Next day we walked around Fort and saw the same places we did the day before, and did more. We walked upto Gadisar lake. Lunch was at Desert Kabab, a place that served great non-vegetarian food. We ordered Lal Maas (red meat), a spicy mutton preparation. The day was spent buying stuff, leather bags, puppets and photography- sheer indulgence. The puppet show was at the desert museum, a rare art heading for extinction. Mr. N.K. Sharma gave a wonderful insight of the life in Rajasthan. "If there is no sand in your hair, clothes and food, you have not seen the desert." It was interesting to note that the desert was once an adversity for the people here, maybe still is; but has become a tourist attraction today. Anyways, Rajasthan's traditional food is a national treasure, undoubtably.

Our last night in Jaisalmer was spent in the dunes. Now photos-