2/12/2014 [Jaisalmer]
This morning began bright and early with some yoga on the rooftop as the sun rose - it was another pinch-worthy moment, and also a very good reminder about how unfit I am! After breakfast, we met a local man who gave us a tour of the city, and was a wealth of knowledge about the history and culture of the local area. He took us to the canon point, which was a major defense point for the fort when it was operational, and he also took us to some Jain temples. Jain is essentially an offshoot of the Hindu religion, and the temples were made from beautiful golden sandstone which was intricately handcarved. We also went to an artist's cooperative, where local people make and sell a variety of stunning textiles including silks, patchworks, weaving, embroidery, pashmina and kashmir shawls and more.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon doing our own thing, so we wandered around the market stalls inside the fort. I went back to see the lady who fitted us in the saris last night, and bought some of her handmade jewellery - she was a sweet little lady, and we ended up chatting away for quite a while. As I left, she gave me a colourful scarf as a gift to wear on our camel safari in the desert tomorrow, which was very kind.
This evening we all walked down to a restaurant outside the fort, where we sat on the rooftop and ate another delicious meal together. During our meal, a wedding procession came down the street, dancing and singing and setting off fireworks and celebrating in a very big way! After dinner, we walked back through the streets and alleyways eating kulfi (Indian icecream).
I find myself becoming really drained at the end of most days - I think it's mostly because everything can get so emotionally and physically draining. So most nights, I collapse into bed fairly early and actually sleep pretty well!
3/12/2014 [Jaisalmer - Thar Desert]
We kicked off our morning with yoga on the rooftop again, then sat around eating breakfast and listening to John Mayer, which was a perfect start to the day. We had a few hours of free time this morning, so we basically just wandered around and did some more shopping to make sure we were prepared for our camel safari this afternoon. A couple of us ventured back outside the fort for lunch at a restaurant nearby, which had THE most amazing kofta!
After lunch, we were transported out to a village on the outskirts of the Thar Desert, where we then rode camels for an hour and a half out into the sand dunes. Camel riding is actually pretty terrifying, and not an experience I wish to repeat. However, I did find it quite amusing that despite being dressed in the traditional robes and turban, one of our camel men was wearing bight green Nikes and texting on his mobile phone as we plodded along!
Once we reached our campsite, we climbed to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunset while we drank chai. We also ran around and took some crazy photos, just for a laugh. As the sun sank even further below the horizon, I lay in the sand with one of the other girls and had a really lovely chat - it was probably the first time on this trip that I feel like I have connected with someone on a deeper level, which was nice. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a loner, because I've been assigned all of the single rooms so I feel a bit out of the loop. So it was nice to connect with someone and feel a little less awkward.
Dinner in the desert was amazing - the camel men cooked us up some delicious thali dishes, which is basically a mixed plate of vegetarian curries. Yum! They also lit campfires for us, so we sat around talking and singing and playing games for a while before heading to bed. We were literally sleeping under the stars, which were so bright and clear and beautiful. It was amazing!
4/12/2014 [Jaisalmer - Jodhpur]
We woke up super early this morning to watch the sunrise over the sand dunes - we've now seen three sunrises and three sunsets in a row, which is pretty awesome. After we ate breakfast around the fire, we rode our camels for half an hour to the nearest village, where our camel safari came to an end.
Back at Jaisalmer Fort, we packed up all our gear, ready to board the public transport bus for the six hour drive to Jodhpur. Not surprisingly, the bus was crazy - we were some of the lucky few who had booked seats, and there were bunks above the seats which could also be used by other passengers for sitting or sleeping. Everyone else stands up, and are crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the aisle. People jump on the bus as it is moving, and are hauled in by fellow passengers, unless there is not enough room - in which case, they simply hang out the door as the bus speeds along!
The buses here have very loud horns, which play crazy tunes every time they are honked (which is approximately every three seconds!). This was quite funny the first time the driver honked it... but not so amusing by the time we reached Jodhpur six hours later.
Once we arrived in Jodhpur, we had a crazy tuk-tuk ride to our accommodation, which is a sweet little set of villas owned by a local family. They cooked us a delicious traditional family meal, and once we had devoured the feast we all realised just how tired we actually were, so headed up to our rooms. I had my first decent shower in almost a week tonight! I didn't realise you actually had to turn the hot water system on before showering, so it was a cold shower... But I still got to wash my hair and I felt much more human again afterwards!
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