Jawahar Niwas Palace Jaisalmer

... br><br>And speaking of that, I want to take a moment to praise our guesthousèe in Jaisalmer, the Pleasant Haveli. It was pure comfort, and there was little that the owner/managers Narendra and Dilip would/could not do for us. They are a couple of great guys with the desire to build a successful hotel for the long term. As Narendra put it, he is satisfied if his chicken lays just one egg a day for him. He's not in it for the quick kill. I like his attitude and I wish them success.

... last night. We had hired a camel safari from Hotel Fifu. It was to be an evening of Camel Riding, sunset by the fire and a dinner with the locals, then a return to our rooms before midnight. There were four of us tourists on the trip, Barb and me, Eric and his friend, both from France. Our driver from the hotel was named Soda, "Not lime soda, just plain soda" , he explained. We rode out into the desert in a jeep 4X4 and visited a series of Cenotaphs of both ...

... different!! not humid 40 degrees stil but can handle it :D love it so much!!!!!!!!!!<br>offically dislike delhi but here i can handle so much<br>the hotel had a pool trust me needed it after delhi<br>went into the fort which is the main town and where peolpe still lve in, it was built in 18th century, but the Havalas whihc aer luxury palaces and homes were built in 16th century by the rich men<br>the whole ...

(Written by Dave with Ben on the pictures)<br><br>Ahhhh Jaisalmer...city in the desert....its not actually in the desert at all... it's more sand swept plains leading up to the great Thar desert but basically it amounts to the same thing. Arriving here by train was something to be experienced in the non-air con carriage in the desert.... we were forced to keep the windows closed to fight off the hot wind and sand ...

... by camel owners and mobbed for a camel ride. we opted for a camel cart which was pretty basic. anshul had a seat which made him nervous as he had read about the flatulous nature of the beast. from what we had read at the net we were expecting a long camel drive to reach the dunes, but they were right there, just on the left side of the road. we were in the thick of things within a few minutes. sand dunes all around and high dusty ...

... sleeping bag, it gets cold in the desert. The first thing i saw when I wake up was my camel name "rocket" which managed to brilliantly sneeze into my face! Then, after a few pics, a quick cleaning and a good breakfast we went back riding the camels and after a few races Rocket deserved its name! Highlight of the trip so far. Jaisalmer fort from the 12th century and carved from sandstone has great little shops inside, worth the detour.

... camel on to the ground and the pain in my groin, which had become a constant dull ache shot up my legs and I was unable to walk for 5 minutes or so. As dinner was being prepared we were joined by some other trekkers and a troup of Indian musicians and a dancer in a beautiful red sari and in the twilight they played and danced for our pleasure while we feasted on traditional Indian dishes and sweet whiskey, a beautiful end to a fascinating day.

... oppulent semi-circular room with its metre thick walls at Hotel Rajmander doesn't have television or WiFi, and it shouldn't; we're occupying 12th century space. From the front of our rooftop terrace there's desert as far as the eye can see. Turn around and the fabulous Maharaja's Palace is before our eyes. A follower more of Robin Hood than Alice in Wonderland when I was young, I sometimes see myself as Sir Robert of Locksley, walking along the lower fort ...

... off our bus after a long ride through the desert it was under a dark, overcast sky, an untypical sight for these dry lands. It had rained for 2 days and, to our surprise, the farmers were very unhappy about this unseasonable rain in winter when it would not benefit their crop, some hardy vegetables and millet. Jaisalmer calls itself the Golden City after the irridescant gleam of the reflected unrelenting desert sun on the city's light sandstone. On ...

... hooing and surprisingly, some took off their shirts and danced on the back of trucks to happy hardcore trance music. All we need was our sunnies and some glowsticks and we were in for the all night rave. The street scene could have easily turned into a riot and we probably shouldn't have stuck around to rubber neck for as long as we did. We visited Patwa-ki-Haveli, a mansion that was built between 1800 and 1860 by five Jain brothers who were brocade and ...