Jaisalmer - a golden fort and camel farts

inside the golden fort
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We boarded the overnight train to Jaisalmer early eve, due to arrive in the Thar Desert 20 hours later at 1pm the following day! Delhi railway station was complete chaos – I couldn’t find my name on the sheets of paper pinned to the platform notice board which designated seats. When I finally found Monty, he explained that my seat was probably reserved under a fake name by Intrepid before I had booked my last minute place on the trip. So I had to travel under the alias of Mr Gupta!

There were large rats on the tracks at Delhi station and at least one had made it onto the train and scuttled under the seats. Mr Gupta, as it turned out, had a good seat that came with the top bunk of 3 tiers. I was in an 8 berth carriage and the top bunk meant I could lie down as soon as I liked – the lower 2 tiers made up the carriage seating and were transformed into bunks at night. I slept very little – people were getting on and off as we travelled through Rajasthan all night and I had bug paranoia after having to flick a creepy shiny thing off me and inadvertently down onto the bunk below! I put my bed away at 9AM and had a most enjoyable morning chatting with my neighbours – a family of 4 from Calcutta and a government official working in defense. Jaisalmer is very close to the Pakistani border but I thought it best not to pry into the nature of his visit! He also turned out to know a lot about the Upanishads I had been reading, having an MA in Hindu philosophy; he gave me a lesson in karma and dharma. Apparently yoga is just 1 of 16 steps to enlightenment!

there was not a sound apart from the occasional camel fart

rooftop restaurant with a view
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The rest of the group were sitting together in the next carriage but I had wanted to sit with the locals, feeling that the journeys across country and cultures are one of the exhilarating experiences I came for. Besides which, my new friends bought me chai and pakora (spicy deep fried veg) and told me all about each destination as we passed through. At Pokara station, I learned that it was here that the Indian gov carried out its first nuclear testing in 1998. A large crater marks the spot! When we arrived at Jaisalmer station, I was suitably impressed to see that my new friend was saluted by the waiting armed military men on the platform.

sunset in the golden city
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LP refers to Jaisalmer as a giant sandcastle with a Hansel and Gretel town attached! It is the golden city carved of sandstone that simply glistens in the strong desert sun. I stepped off the train into an oven but the air felt so clean after Delhi, the rickshaw ride to the centre was wonderfully invigorating. What’s more, the driver didn’t drop us in the centre square but carried on driving right into the fort gate – our hotel was inside the golden fort! I was later to learn that 25% of the city’s inhabitants live inside the fort but that, thanks to thriving tourism, the increased pressure on the drainage system is endangering the beautiful 12^th century monument. The fort infrastructure is on the verge of collapse. Unfortunately I was in desperate need of a shower though..

the jain temples at dawn
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Within the fort, narrow lanes form a confusing maze of stalls and businesses (including a legal Bhang shop!) alongside Jain and Hindu temples and a palace. The fort towers over the city and our hotel terrace offered a magnificent 360 degree looking down to the beautiful yellow sandstone Jain temples, out to the city and beyond to the desert. We sat on rugs and cushions around a low table eating thali and watching the sun set and the stars switch on.

Am sitting in an Internet café (actually a dark storeroom of a kiosk) trying to keep smiling having just spent 45 mins writing blog pages only to lose it all to yet another power cut! Always another lesson learned – ask to use word and save, save, save! This morning I jumped out of bed and ran up to the roof terrace - the sky was ablaze and the sun a great giant orange globe as it popped up behind the sandstone city skyline. The Jain temples looked suspiciously like Daleks in the dawn light! I had banana pancakes before going out to explore the temples. They were built between 12^th and 16^th century and contain intricate stone carvings of the Jain tirthankars in gorgeous yellow sandstone and marble statues of Parajnath- the 22^nd prophet. The Jain priests were keen to show and tell in exchange for donations but we were scolded when we circumambulated in the wrong direction! Must remember – the altar is always kept on your right, walk in a clockwise direction only!

exterminate, exterminate..
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Jaisalmer is also fabulous for browsing. There are many stalls selling beautiful wall hangings and rugs and plenty of homespun clothing shops. I am well kitted out for the rest of my stay now and my backpack is officially fit to burst! Might have to lose that sleeping bag! The cows and bulls in Jaisalmer seem much more content than the Delhi cows. The locals give them friendly pats as they trot past, leaving pats of their own in return. I did run into a bit of trouble though when trying to avoid being run down by a moped, I collided with a bull and tripped -much to the amusement of those behind me! We had a group night out at a great rooftop eatery, all wearing traditional Rajasthani dress. We sought assistance from the sari shop lady with the sari/turban winding thing. Mine was purple (naturally) and the material went on for miles and miles. The guys looked dashing in tunics, turbans and ali baba baggy pants. They are all keeping their turbans for the desert but I had to reluctantly leave my sari behind due to aforementioned backpack bursting situation.

a jain deity
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Monty saw me reading ‘Light on yoga’ and we got talking about the role of yoga in the daily lives of Indian people. At school, Monty had been taught to meditate from as young as 5. There were 20 minutes of silent meditation before lessons every morning! It’s really hard to imagine this working in the UK! They were also taught yoga asanas as part of their physical education. Monty says he’s out of practice so we have been meeting occasionally for dawn pranayama!

We took jeeps 50 miles or so out into the Thar desert and then trekked on camels through the early evening. The desert was really peaceful – not a sound apart from the occasional camel fart and the singing of the Rajasthani camel herders. We set up camp at sunset – just 10 desert beds around a campfire, no tents. I walked out into the middle of nowhere to watch it get dark while the others rolled down sand dunes and cracked open beers.

jain preist
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The nomadic camel riders cooked us a great dinner of local specialties and there was plenty of singing – mostly Rajasthani folk songs in local dialect but we were also treated to ‘Jingle Bells’ – “Oh what fun it is to ride on camel saf-ah-ray, hey!”

I lay perfectly still for hours staring at the billions of stars in the sky in awe after the boys had finished playing with their fireworks (one landed on my bed still sizzling – what are the chances!) (Glad I wasn’t on it at the time!) We passed the starmap around and excitedly pointed out shooting stars. We all saw some but no 2 people saw the same one – they were individual lucky stars. I saw 3 and went to sleep listening to Pink Floyd and making my wishes under the twinkling night sky.