Overview
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Summary
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Jaisalmer: Our Experience
11th November, 2013 (Day 1)
We arrived into Jaisalmer around midday on a bus from Jodhpur. Initially we had planned on taking a train, however we didn’t want to take a chance with wait listed train tickets so we opted for a sleeper bus instead. The five-hour bus ride was surprising pleasant as we were given a sleeper bed which had a curtain for privacy.
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Once we arrived into Jaisalmer we checked into our hotel, had a hot shower and some lunch, and headed out to see one of the highlights of the town, Jaisalmer Fort.
Jaisalmer Fort is the only fort with living quarters for the townsfolk. Royal palaces, a cluster of Jain temples, mansions and shops are all contained within its walls. We spent the entire afternoon walking around the fort and admiring the views of Jaisalmer town from the ramparts of the fort. On the plus side, this fort is very unique and different to the other forts we visited in Rajasthan; on the down side, it it is very commercialised and touristy too.
The highlight of our visit to the fort was the cluster of Jain temples within its walls. They are stunning works of architecture and rival some of the best Jain temples in India – Ranakpur and Delwara in particular.
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In the evening, we went for dinner to Chandan Shree restaurant located in Hanuman Circle just outside the old city walls. It is a pure vegetarian restaurant which specialises in Rajasthani thalis. It also serves tasty Gujarati, Punjabi, South Indian and Bengali dishes.
12th & 13th November, 2013 (Day 2 & 3)
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We were picked up by Om, the owner of Arya Tours early in the morning. We drove about thirty kilometres to the edge of the Thar Desert where two camels were waiting for us with a desert guide.
This was the start of our two days, one night Jaisalmer camel safari into the desert to experience life as a desert nomad – to travel through the hot, dry desert on camel back and to sleep under the stars at night.
We had opted to go with Arya Tours after a lot of research. We had read terrible reviews about some of the big tour operators in Jaisalmer while Arya Tours, being a small, privately owned tour operator, had some of the best reviews for their camel safaris. We were looking for a genuine camel safari in the desert without the touristy shows and fancy tents, and that’s exactly what we got.
Even though the guide books mention to beware of being hassled by tour operators, hotels and people in general while in Jaisalmer, we didn’t have any bad experiences to this effect. Even our hotel manager didn’t bother us about taking a camel safari with them. We were pleasantly surprised about the nonchalant attitude people had about our choice of tour operator for our camel safari trip in Jaisalmer.
I believe if you have already set up a tour operator before you arrive in Jaisalmer then people won’t give you a hard time. If you are still deciding on the tour operator for your camel safari then people will put pressure on you to go with them.
14th November, 2013 (Day 4)
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It was late afternoon by the time we returned to Jaisalmer from our camel safari in the desert. We were tired and a bit sore but Om was nice enough to allow us to use his hotel room for a hot shower and change of clothes. Over a cup of hot chai, we sat in his cafe, Blues Cafe, and discussed our camel safari experience with him.
In the evening, we went to see the famous Jaisalmer havelis. Jaisalmer is well known for its beautiful havelis both inside the fort and in the walled area of the city. The most impressive and popular havelis are Patwa-ki-Haveli, Nathmal-ki-Haveli and Salim Singh-ki-Haveli. Made of yellow sandstone, a Jaisalmer haveli has intricately carved windows, balconies and doorways.
This was the end of our trip in Jaisalmer as we had a train bound for Ajmer that night. We returned to Chandan Shree restaurant to have our last dinner in Jaisalmer simply because we loved the delicious, great value food there.
As we waited for our midnight train, we thought about Jaisalmer and all our wonderful experiences in this desert town. Nowhere else in India is it possible to travel into the desert on a camel and spend a few days living as a nomad. This would have to be the highlight of our trip to Jaisalmer and definitely one of our top picks for our Indian adventure.
