| Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India |
From Delhi to Jaisalmer, 24 & 25 November 2003: From our hotel in
New Delhi we went to by autorickshaw to Delhi's Serai Rohilla Station and
there boarded the 5:40pm sleeper train to Jaisalmer.
Our class 3AC airconditioned car contained triple-decker bunks which during
the day were converted for sitting. The bunks had enough padding to be
comfortable, and an attendant supplied each passenger with two sheets, a
blanket, and a pillow with pillowcase. Passengers generally slept in their
street clothes, taking off only their shoes. At each end of the car were two
restrooms, one "western style" with a seat-toilet and the other "Indian style"
with a squat-toilet consisting basically of a hole in the floor. The car was
reasonably clean except for very dirty windows. Vendors went through the
train from time to time selling drinks and snacks, which also could be bought
from peddlers at train stations along the way. About ten days earlier I had
bought the train tickets at a train station while we were on the group tour of
central India; for the Delhi to Jaisalmer sleeper train ride the total fare for
us two, after the 30% senior discount, came to 1288 rupees (about US$29).
The train ride was pleasant and we enjoyed the company of our
fellow-passengers, who consisted mainly of middle-class Indians, and a
sprinkling of European and Australian backpackers. . Some of the Indians
spoke English well enough for us to carry on basic conversations with them.
The foreign backpackers all spoke English very well, and we enjoyed hearing
of their travels.. We especially enjoyed conversing with an ethnic Chinese man
born in Vietnam who in the 1970's, at the age of five emigrated to the USA
with his parents and siblings. He was laid off by the computer software firm
for which he had been working in California, and he took advantage of that
opportunity to tour China and India for four months.
Jaisalmer, 25 to 28 November: Jaisalmer is a small city located in the
desert of western Rajasthan, near the border with Pakistan. Jaisalmer
accumulated much wealth serving as a major staging post for the camel
caravans on the trade routes west across the desert. Much of that wealth
was put into the construction of extensive fortifications, ornate temples, royal
palaces, and luxurious merchants homes known as "havelis".
Upon arriving in Jaisalmer 25 November around 1:00pm we took an
motorickshaw, quickly looked into three or four hotels listed in our "Lonely
Planet" and "Footprint" guidebooks. We selected the Raj Palace Hotel where
for 400 rupees (about US$9) per night we got a basic room with hot-water
bath, a nice view: a bit dusty, but conveniently located just a five minute walk
to the entrance of Jaisalmer Fort. The Fort is built on a plateau about 200
feet above the rest of Jaisalmer. We went into the enormous Fort several
times, within which we walked the narrow twisting streets to visit the majestic
Rajmahal Palace, some of the bastions overlooking the town below, numerous
beautiful temples, restaurants, and small shops; about 2,000 persons live
within the confines of the Fort. Within the Fort we enjoyed several good
meals at the Little Tibet Restaurant, also had refreshments at the Eighth of
July Restaurant overlooking the Fort's main courtyard..
Outside the Fort we visited several beautiful havelis formerly owned by
wealthy merchants and resembling small palaces with highly sculptured
facades and painted murals covering interior walls. Also below the Fort we
walked many of the streets, enjoying such sights as a political rally attended
by hundreds of turbaned supporters. We especially liked the pedestrian
market street with restaurants, snack stands, internet cafés, hundreds of
small shops and stalls selling a wide range of products.
One afternoon we took a taxi (500 rupees, US$11) to the Sam Sand Dunes,
about 30 miles (50km) from Jaisalmer, with sand dunes resembling the
deserts seen in movies but only a few square miles in size. We enjoyed seeing
hundreds of camels, viewing the much-touted sunset. We also were
fascinated by a rehearsal for the filming of a Rajasthan tourist-promotion TV
commercial featuring many camels, women in bright new attire dancing and
carrying jugs of water on their heads, etc.
New Delhi we went to by autorickshaw to Delhi's Serai Rohilla Station and
there boarded the 5:40pm sleeper train to Jaisalmer.
Our class 3AC airconditioned car contained triple-decker bunks which during
the day were converted for sitting. The bunks had enough padding to be
comfortable, and an attendant supplied each passenger with two sheets, a
blanket, and a pillow with pillowcase. Passengers generally slept in their
street clothes, taking off only their shoes. At each end of the car were two
restrooms, one "western style" with a seat-toilet and the other "Indian style"
with a squat-toilet consisting basically of a hole in the floor. The car was
reasonably clean except for very dirty windows. Vendors went through the
train from time to time selling drinks and snacks, which also could be bought
from peddlers at train stations along the way. About ten days earlier I had
bought the train tickets at a train station while we were on the group tour of
central India; for the Delhi to Jaisalmer sleeper train ride the total fare for
us two, after the 30% senior discount, came to 1288 rupees (about US$29).
The train ride was pleasant and we enjoyed the company of our
fellow-passengers, who consisted mainly of middle-class Indians, and a
sprinkling of European and Australian backpackers. . Some of the Indians
spoke English well enough for us to carry on basic conversations with them.
The foreign backpackers all spoke English very well, and we enjoyed hearing
of their travels.. We especially enjoyed conversing with an ethnic Chinese man
born in Vietnam who in the 1970's, at the age of five emigrated to the USA
with his parents and siblings. He was laid off by the computer software firm
for which he had been working in California, and he took advantage of that
opportunity to tour China and India for four months.
Jaisalmer, 25 to 28 November: Jaisalmer is a small city located in the
desert of western Rajasthan, near the border with Pakistan. Jaisalmer
accumulated much wealth serving as a major staging post for the camel
caravans on the trade routes west across the desert. Much of that wealth
was put into the construction of extensive fortifications, ornate temples, royal
palaces, and luxurious merchants homes known as "havelis".
Upon arriving in Jaisalmer 25 November around 1:00pm we took an
motorickshaw, quickly looked into three or four hotels listed in our "Lonely
Planet" and "Footprint" guidebooks. We selected the Raj Palace Hotel where
for 400 rupees (about US$9) per night we got a basic room with hot-water
bath, a nice view: a bit dusty, but conveniently located just a five minute walk
to the entrance of Jaisalmer Fort. The Fort is built on a plateau about 200
feet above the rest of Jaisalmer. We went into the enormous Fort several
times, within which we walked the narrow twisting streets to visit the majestic
Rajmahal Palace, some of the bastions overlooking the town below, numerous
beautiful temples, restaurants, and small shops; about 2,000 persons live
within the confines of the Fort. Within the Fort we enjoyed several good
meals at the Little Tibet Restaurant, also had refreshments at the Eighth of
July Restaurant overlooking the Fort's main courtyard..
Outside the Fort we visited several beautiful havelis formerly owned by
wealthy merchants and resembling small palaces with highly sculptured
facades and painted murals covering interior walls. Also below the Fort we
walked many of the streets, enjoying such sights as a political rally attended
by hundreds of turbaned supporters. We especially liked the pedestrian
market street with restaurants, snack stands, internet cafés, hundreds of
small shops and stalls selling a wide range of products.
One afternoon we took a taxi (500 rupees, US$11) to the Sam Sand Dunes,
about 30 miles (50km) from Jaisalmer, with sand dunes resembling the
deserts seen in movies but only a few square miles in size. We enjoyed seeing
hundreds of camels, viewing the much-touted sunset. We also were
fascinated by a rehearsal for the filming of a Rajasthan tourist-promotion TV
commercial featuring many camels, women in bright new attire dancing and
carrying jugs of water on their heads, etc.
Camels for rent at the Sam Sand Dunes.
Sunset at the Sam Sand Dunes near Jaisalmer.
A Jaisalmer haveli (wealthy
merchant's house).
merchant's house).
A motoricksha, the principal form of taxi transport in India.