Day 24 - A desert camp

Pancakes with banana on the hotel roof overlooking Jaisalmer was a great way to start the day. Kerry and I were the last to get up there, not rising until 8:30am. We needed some sleep after the long train ride from Delhi.

When breakfast was done we all met in the hotel lobby to receive the day’s instructions from Anant. First up was a somewhat informal guided tour of the lane-ways and passages that service the community of about three thousand people who live and work within the walls of the fort. The fort, incidentally, dates back to the 12 century, built by Rawal Jaisal on a low hill (more like a mound) on the flat, Thar desert plain that surrounds it. It’s constructed from the local yellow sandstone and is an imposing feature in the heart of the surrounding city. The Rawal (king) chose the site because it is at an important intersection on the Silk Road.

Stepping outside the front door of our hotel, the Deepak Rest House, one traverses a narrow passage to reach one of the many lane-ways that lead to the centre of the fort. At the fort’s centre is the Palace, where the king used to live, with a small public square in the front. The King built a bigger shack some time in the 17th century, where he now lives. We caught a glimpse of the chap while standing in the square as he headed down the steep, stone-clad path to the main gate in his Willy’s Jeep. A handsome young man, about 26yo and still eligible, ladies! There are four heavy wooden gates that one must pass through to reach the palace from the street below. The climb up is very steep in parts and a little treacherous as the main path is paved with huge sandstone blocks which are very smooth and slippery due to almost a thousand years of foot (and later, vehicular) traffic. As you can imagine, the fort is just a myriad of lane-ways and passages so getting lost is not hard. Apparently, however, all the lanes eventually will take you back to the Palace square, where you can start the search for your hotel again. The most striking feature of our brief walk was the myriad of items being sold along the way. The walls of the houses are literally covered with beautifully coloured fabrics - from traditional and modern clothing to hats to table cloths and floor and wall coverings. At the the bottom of the walls are tables loaded with trinkets and souvenirs of all sorts. Weirdly, brightly painted door knobs are a thing here.

Our walk visited the extremities of the fort village which afforded panoramic views of the city below as well as other aspects of the yellow sandstone walls and buildings thereon. We found little cafe perched high above the path to the fort’s main gate for a coffee and a chance to soak in the bewildering sights we’d already seen this morning. We sat on cushions at low tables in the “eastern style” while enjoyed good coffee and good company.

The rest of the early afternoon was whiled away in our room, preparing for tonight’s camp in the Thar desert. At 3:30pm, with just a backpack in hand, we walked down to the main gate to board the Jeep that would take us out into the desert. Kerry and Anna took a tuk-tuk down because to lessen the risk of their respective leg injuries. Anna had badly sprained her ankle in Varanasi just prior to this tour. She’s bravely soldiering on with a very pronounced limp. I think both girls are providing some unspoken support for each other. We crammed into the little, open-air jeep, driven by the hotel owner, Deepak, and headed out of town. The landscape is dry, barren and unforgiving with a broad-leafed shrub of some sort spread over the dusty, rocky ground. Goats abound in this environment, feeding on those same shrubs. Paragliding enterprises and resorts simulating forts also abound! The sealed, bumpy road gave way to a rough dirt road after 45 minutes and we rolled through little villages which seemed to be not much more than a grouping of stone buildings in various states of construction or de-construction. This must be a very harsh environment in which to live, day in day out. The road turned into a track and after a further 15 minutes or so we arrived at our campsite at the bottom of a large sand dune. The site sported a ramshackle stone hut with lean-to verandah on a raised concrete floor. It had been built by Deepak to improve the desert amenity for his guests. It even has a western toilet!

With cold beer in hand we trekked up the sand dune (Kerry and Anna stayed behind due to the tough going) to watch the sun-set. The sky was cloudless so the sun-set was less spectacular than it might have been but spectacular, nevertheless, especially when the sun sank below the horizon and the horizon turned a deep red and yellow. A cameleer passed through the view which really added context to the whole scene. Almost dark, we went back to the camp where dinner was ready. The meal had been prepared on an open fire by a couple of local lads. Our beds for the night were camp stretchers set up behind a make-shift wind-break constructed from local branches, sticks and shrubs. We ate our lovely meal sitting on our stretchers watching the night sky envelope our surroundings, with Venus and Jupiter very prominent in the western sky. Under thick and heavy blankets we retired for the night with nothing but the Milky Way above our heads.