The Golden City...

That have to be shared with cows. They made us quite nervous after one of them horned Korak!!! I guess they could tell that all he could see when looking at them was a big steak.
see all photos »

This was the first of the 'colored' cities (there is still the blue and pink city to come apparently). Jaisalmer is so called for its use of a yellowish sandstone for almost all of its architecture.  It is the driest place in India though we apparently managed to arrive in the first flood of the area in 44 years. It was actually pretty bad as over 600 people in surrounding villages died (you might have heard that on the news...but then maybe not if you are an avid follower of CNN).  We saw signs of what must have been a great flood plain but overall the water was pretty low and the roads quite passable. In Jaisalmer they had to evacuate tourists just several days prior to our arrival, so quite serious.

Main market square
see all photos »

Jaisalmer is almost entirely a sandy waste, forming a part of the great Indian desert. The general aspect of the area is that of an interminable sea of sand hills, of all shapes and sizes, some rising to a height of 150 ft.

Jaisalmer is really a fairy tale city. As you approach the city you are greeted by the majestic fort that looms on the hill. Its massive sandstone walls are a tawny lion color during the day, turning to a magical honey-gold as the sun sets. The whole place has a sleepy, sort of dreamy feel to it (try to ignore the cow pies, scrawny, mangy dogs and filth) especially when you are at the top of the fort looking out on the stark emptiness of the desert.

Those balconies weren't meant for large people!
see all photos »

We had an awesome room in our hotel with large eastern-like arching windows. The windows had a wide ledge covered in cushions and a soft mattress so you could look out on to the rest of the world. Unfortunately it also meant barking dogs and mooing cows all night. It was however fun to sit early in the morning and watch the place wake up and people begin their daily rituals without being observed. For instance, apparently a lot of the folks actually feed the seemingly stray cows and the definitely stray dogs. I had wondered about that....

Good view of the fort with bastions
see all photos »

The fort itself is magnificent and presents a glimpse into its former glory. It has been listed top 100 endangered world heritage place and its easy to see why. People have continued to live inside the walls of the fort and with the availability of water the sandstone is being worn down and destroyed.

They did have an excellent audio guide tour of the palace within the fort and we quite enjoyed that.  The fort must have been full of all kinds of romantic intrigues as the number of secret passages and peep holes is astounding. Though life couldn't have been too easy for the female constituent as their participation in royal life was limited to looking down at the gaiety below from specially designed peep holes.

The detail is incredible! It is all carved from stone piece by piece
see all photos »

On the way to Jaisalmer we were fortunate to witness a major pilgrimage. I can't for the life of me recall the name of the temple but I do know that Hindus from all over India visit there.  The annual pilgrimage brings hundreds of thousands of devotees who walk, fly or drive (car, camel, horses, bulls etc).  Some people, we were told, begin walking a couple of months before as they have to cover hundreds of miles, others don't walk as far and may cover the trip in less days. All the folks we saw on the roads had little or no baggage preferring to reman as light as possible for the arduous journey. The pilgrims we saw were of all ages/ I saw children and really old people all walking. How they do it I don't know. We were flagged by a family with a toddler asking for water, luckily we happened to have bottles of water in the car to share with them. To help the pilgrims temporary sheds were set up to provide free food, water and medical aid. Watching them from the comforts of our air-conditioned car made me think of primarily two things: 1) how brave these people are and 2) what people do in the name of religion, in the name of being blessed with good fortune for the effort they put in. I mean a walk like that, through the blazing sun in that arid landscape could kill you in a hurry. I don't know if and how may people die during the pilgrimage but I am willing to bet that the gods (even when done in their name)extol a heavy toll for the effort.

Cenotaphs for burial of past Majarajah's.
see all photos »

We didn't know it at the time but now that we have completed our India visit, Jaisalmer left us with some of the best positive memories and a postcard beautiful image of its grandeur.