Hotel Sonargarh Fort Jaisalmer

... few obviously gay Americans from San Francisco. (I know - how cliché!) I'm pretty sure they thought Tony and I are gay - Tony because he looks gay and me because I'm handsome. (I get to write this because this is my blog. In Tony's blog I look gay and he's handsome.)<br><br>Anyway, after our first dinner, Tony and I went next door to the Mandir Palace restaurant, recommended by a couple of nice American ladies we had met yesterday. The nightime view of the fort from there ...

... hotel. This yellow sandstone masterpiece has been sequenced in many films. After spending some time here we walked through the bazaar area of Jaisalmer to approach the main entrance of the fort. <br><br>Jaisalmer fort is different from any other forts that we have seen. This fort is on top of a hill called the trikuta hill and is well protected by a strong fort wall with 99 bastions. We found that this ...

... at Jaisalmer is pretty much now entirely inhabited by people, most of whom have shops, restaurants, or hotels. The people's presence is actually destroying the fort, and Lonely Planet warns against encouraging businesses that contribute to the fort's desegregation, but they certianly do add to the city's charm. The streets are narrow and all archways and widows are are intricately carved. With all this golden sand ...

Jaisalmer fort can be only be described as a sandcastle on a rock in the middle of the desert. It looks so cool (and of course we forgot to take a photo of it) and when walking in it you get a real feel of it being lived in, with the close streets, wandering cows and locals selling their wares to you from the front room of their house. We had a few days here and spent the first day wandering about the ...

... had an amazing deal which effectively gave us one out of two nights free stay for both rooms on rates indicated on their site. true value for money, sply if you dont use jacuzzi, spa and pool. we end up paying for all that in five stars even when we dont use them. some disadvantages of not being a top luxury hotel were also there. like no tandoori food, no ice (they did provide chilled water and soda), seepage in their walls, sluggish ...

... the desert. It's a bit like riding a horse, difference is you can't kick with the feet, just with the reins. and it's a biiiiiig ******* machine!! We had fun reaching the night point where the guides set up amazing basic food for us around the fire and managed to get us some cold beer!!! Can't tell you the taste of it in the middle of the desert, you gotta experience it! It's something! Then, great night under the stars - glad I had ...

... villages was the norm and as we passed through we were mobbed by the village children asking for rupees, bracelets or anything that they could get from us and while you had to be firm with them or they would just take something and assume you would let them have it, they didn't cultivate a feeling of guilt in their begging, it was a kind of excited interest at the strange white skinned people passing through their lives and it became ...

... spent more time watching the festivities at the "camel festival" todays events included races, camel polo and international tug-of-war, the indian men won but the western women beat the Indian women, be proud of our girls! The next day we didn't bother with the festival it was out in the desert and transport would be a problem. We also booked a bus to Udaipur for the day after we got back from the Camel trek to speed things along. The day of ...

... into India rather than neighbouring Pakistan. Although the Maharajas lost all worldly power they remained in residence and showed great entrepreneurial skill by opening their majestic forts to the public and converting their palaces into luxury hotels, thus earning them billions. Rajasthan is a place of contrasts: harsh barren desert vs most colourful attire and people bedecked in gold and silver, scorching daytime heat vs freezing nighttime ...

... refused permission on the grounds that he would have to pass under it to get to the lake and he felt that this would be beneath his dignity. While he was away, she built the gate anyway, adding a Krishna temple on top so the king could not tear it down. Fabulous, I Love it. We watched some giant catfish eating stale bread and of course we crashed another wedding photo shoot that was happening on the island in the middle of the lake. The wedding party had ...