Mandir Palace Itc Welcomgroup Jaisalmer

... and our wierd colour hair and skin.. they gave us Chai which was lovely until they then wanted to strip us of all our worldly goods, we gave them hairslides, hairbands, any spare coins we had in the bag all that we could find, they even took the water bottle I had. They are very poor in the desert and anything we could give them we did but this was just the beggining.

Later that day when we were meandering into the dunes where we would be sleeping we were ...

... on our way. God knows what we would have done if they were down for a few days. Since we have bought supplies for tomorrows camel safari including two ridiculous but sensible hats, a white long sleeve shirt for me, leather (1.30) water carrier and medical supplies for Damians gammy leg.

Damian is trying desperately to sort our photos but not having much luck!!! Hopefully they like the money situation will sort themselves soon.

TTFN. L&D. x

... hotels. the sweet dish was a disappointment. they said it was rice pudding or kheer. it was rice pudding all right, but kheer it certainly was not. dhanraj ranmal bhatia is the best sweet shop in jaisalmer. it is near the fort. we got rasmalais from there for our dinner sweet dish for the second day. we did had to make some adjustments, but not complaining at the rates we got. the hotel needs to solve its seepage problems, surprising ...

... had enough. We all decided to go back, much to the pain of the guides, even the two dumb British girls who had paid for two nights were against staying another. One night in the desert was enough for us, it would have been nicer without the sandstorm., but I guess it made it an interesting experience. Overall, it was a great time. It was fascinating to see so many camels up close. After a couple of days back in Jaisalmer we were on our way to Nepal.

Man those camels are uncomfortable.. but after a hours trek or so we stoppped off and made camp.. ok we were left fo like an hour on our own in the middle of no-where when our guide went to get us food and we did begin to think we had been lead into a HUGE scam... but good news... he did ...

... un resto pour touriste avec spectacle de danse ! Oui on s est fait plaisir. C'était bien sur un peu plus cher mais Tatiana la suisse était contente d avoir un peu de compagnie. C est pas toujours évident de voyager seule ! Elle s'est souvent retrouvé avec des dizaines d indiens la regardant comme une bête bizare ! Heureusement que son chauffeur les faisait parfois fuir ! Quelle aventure ! Nous l avons ramené à son hôtel ! Wahou ! Le grand luxe ! Un vrai Palais. J ai demandé combien ...

... driver got the camel to stand tipping you way forward until he gets his front feet up. Then all of a sudden there you are perched high on the camel. I was hoping my camel was well behaved as one is quite high up. The camels had issues with flies in their face and minor wounds and was snapping at them and lifting his foot to swat them while you are hanging on. Riding the camel was great fun. One soon gets into the rhythm ...

... in the small gardens. 'The thing about Indian people' an antique textile collector tells me as we lounge on the floor of his shop drinking chai, 'Is that we live outside, whereas you live inside. But it is not just outside of the houses that we are living...we are living outside in the heart and the mind as well.' He's entirely right and I love that. The India people spend most of the days outside their stores, their houses, their cafes, talking, laughing, smoking and drinking ...

... any day! Anyway as I was a guest I had to partake (the things I do for you) A block of opium was slowly brunt before being filtered through the water in a hookah. The liquid is then, as tradition dictates, passed around in the palm of the hand as slurped away. Did I feel incredibly zenned out? Giggle hysterically? Have a yen for frosties? Alas no though I didn't exactly imbibe much. Either that or I'm completely immune to illegal drugs at this stage.Right aligned photo ...