Residency Centrepoint Paying Guest House Jaisalmer

... the middle of a desert. Ali was telling us how he has been saving up for years to buy his own camel, they only cost around 250 pound so was strange to think that had taken him so long and he was still only half way, it just shows you how little Indians get paid over here, 9% of all Indians live on less than 100 rupees a week! <br> <br>Just before bed the camels were given their dinner and tied up for the night just below our camp. Our 'camp ...

... to wander around the narrow alleys and see how the locals and cows coexist, to be mesmerized by the rajput turbans and moustaches that seem to take humangous dimensions and are even more colorful in this city.<br><br>And since I am next to the desert, I decide to take a camel safari, sleep over a dune and check the Milky Way in a moonless night. The camel safari is not bad, despite the occasional camel *****, but it is nothing special. The landscape is quite ...

... dhal, aloo and rice, prepared by the guides. For a few hours we sat in the moonlight then went up the dune to find a suitable spot for the night. There we unrolled our blankets and lay supine, looking up at the twinkly stars. <br><br>In the morning we rode, well ran actually, for a couple of hours before being picked up by the jeep. Mark and I shared a camel as we thought it would be fun, though it turned out to be a ...

... as possible to know what we would need. For example, to be on the safe side (in a very delicate matter) we brought 10 rolls of toilet paper. So far they have been used only to wrap up the more delicate purchases. Those we will leave behind. We also brought a UV water sanitizer, thinking that it might be difficult to find good water. We have not needed to use it one time. We brought s laundry kit that we used twice-until we figured ...

... light. We made our way to a small desert hut, where we ate potatoes and lentils with chapati and rice, almost unable to see what we were eating, since the haze of the day - sand blown up from the desert - made the night darker than usual. The stars are usually so bright that they had not thought to bring along a lamp. This morning we saw the oldest Haveli outside of the fort. It's a beautifully carved seven story structure, which used to be nine ...

... Indian ladies (see photograph to illustrate their wonderfullness). They eyed me very suspiciously for the first six hours or so but as soon as they found out i wasn't married they got very friendly indeed. Indian women - as i have found to my cost -can be outrageous flirts. They also hand out large amounts of beautiful cuisine which on a long trip like this is a life saver. They find it very rude if you politely decline any offer of food so you end up ...

... end of the day at the campsite.) We walked along for the first bit, stopped in at the camel guide's village (of 10) to have a break and drink chai (a very traditional offering everywhere I've been). Then we continued on for a while, and stopped for lunch. The camel travel people had a separate jeep with staff that showed up when we stopped to cook for us, so we had a complete meal. Afterwards, we rested for a few hours since it ...

Jaisalmer is in Rajastan 800 kms west of Delhi. Its about as far as civilisation goes west in these parts - on the edge of the Thar desert, close to the Pakistan border. The overnight train arrived over 3 hours late after a 20 hour journey! However the A/C Sleeper Class is auite comfortable. Very nice hotel conveniently located with superb view of Fort from rooftop restaurant. Two particular features here - lots of ...

... villages in the middle of the desert, see the men cooking for us (even the chapatis) in the middle of nowhere, enjoy an amazing sunset and sing around the fire. We had even an Spanish lesson on the camel. Sleeping on dunes was fantastic! it was not very chilly and we saw quite a few shooting stars. The following morning we woke up desoriented but in a minute one can realize that is in the midle of the desert, wonderful sunrise and landscape... we were so happy there!

... days and cold nights. I arrived at 6am to find a line up of touts pushing their hotels. I picked one that has cheap rooms and free transport. The room turned out to be nice with a double bed and bathroom for 80 Rupees ($2 dollars a night). At that point I would have taken any cheap room that had a bed with a warm blanket because I was tired, cold and not in the mood to look around for other places. I went to sleep instantly and slept for five hours. I woke ...