20 Hours to Jaisalmer

After a twenty-hour overnight train (sharing one room with 6 people), we finally arrived in Jaisalmer, a fort city in the middle of the desert. As we rode in on tuk tuk, I was absolutely taken away by the majestic fort, rising up over the yellow city; and all of the beautiful people going about their day, dressed in brightly colored saris and tunics. It looked like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, simply unreal. And soooo different from Delhi, thankfully. That afternoon we all needed to unwind from our nearly day long journey, so we enjoyed our beautiful hotel pool and courtyard, before heading out for an evening of exploration. We went to a stunning lake where we met Indian families and played with some children, then we rode out into the desert to see the sunset while sitting in the ruins of an old palace. To top it off, we ate at a delicious Indian food at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the brightly lit fortress, and listened to the sound of traditional Indian music. It was quite an evening.

Jaisalmer city fort

The following day, we explored the inside of the fort, which is the only inhabited fort in India. Every road, every corner, every alley, was a feast for the eyes. Cows wandered down the little stone paths, and traditionally dressed women and children went about daily life. There were plenty of shops and stands selling goods to tourists, but everything was handmade and absolutely beautiful. It was so hard to resist buying it all, and a few of the people in our group couldn‘t; my friend Anna purchased a stunning 4x6 wall hanging, leather purses and a few scarves. We headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon, to get ready for our overnight camel safari. Jeeps picked us up at 5, and drove us 45 minutes into the desert to a picturesque campsite, with the coolest safari tents, once again feeling as if we were in an old movie. We dropped off our things and got right on our camels. It was so incredible to be on top of these huge, docile animals, riding over sand dunes in the middle of the Thar desert. As we watched yet another beautiful desert sunset, I really couldn’t believe where I was, and everything that I was doing. Truly magical.

The rest of the night was spent feasting on Indian food, playing cards and having a laugh with the group outside of our tent. In the morning, we headed back to the hotel and had one last day to explore the fort and palaces of Jaisalmer. The next day we would be heading to the Jodphur, the “blue city,” famous for making jodphurs, the horse back riding pants. At that point, I wasn’t sure how it could get much better, but I had no doubt that it would. All I can say is India is spectacular.