Days 8 & 9

Day 8

Early rise and nice long journey from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer.
Paul has been renamed Dorris and still requires strong leadership and direction at all times.

Quick stop off at Pokaram Fort on route to Jaisalmer. Again the usual spectacular architecture and stone work and along with most of these forts has been turned into a 5* hotel. Interesting though are the huge cracks in the wall which appeared after the Indians detonated a couple of nuclear devices in the late 90's only 35 k's away. Apparently the local eye sight and bone density is not too great these days!

Jaisalmer - if you were to ask a child to draw a sandcastle, you would get something that looks very similar to Jaisalmer Fort. Perched on a rock formation over the city it has 99 bastions, 4 gates and a double wall all made with golden sandstone. Although a sweet little town it is rather a sad place as now the spice/silk trade route has closed after partition and the closing of the Pakistan border, it is dying on its feet with only tourism and the military to keep it going. Consequently major hassle from traders at every turn means it is a bit tiresome and one longs to be able to stop for more than 30 seconds without being sold to.

Dorris promised a spectacular sunset at a special place he knew. Turned out to be a cenotaph for all the Maharajas of the town. Picture the scene, beautiful memorials, gently fading sun, local school kids sitting around Sally in a little circle asking innocently to shake her hand, Sally does so then immediately says' enough' gets up walks away and sanatises her hands...Public heath and infection control remains at the forefront of her mind even away from the desk!

Day 9

Quick tour around Jaisalmer fort, temples and Palaces with the help of a local guide. More of the same but all incredibly impressive none the less.

Afternoon/evening was a trip out to the Thar Desert. We were supposed to be doing a whole day and night stay but guessed it might be  a bit over the top. Best decision we have made in a long time!
After an hour in the car we got to our trusty steads. After 10 minutes on the camel we had both had enough and were happy to reach the top of the nearest sand dune. We waited patiently for the spectacular sun set we had been promised, the air was still and the place peaceful.........oh sorry no it wasn't, there was at least another 100 people up there screaming , shouting, playing crap music on their mobiles and trying to sell us stuff, a beggar with no arms even made it up there, god knows how he held onto the camel.
After a less than breath taking sundown we were back on the Camels for the short journey out of the desert and back into Dorris's car bound for Jaisalmer.

Fantastic meal this evening, in fact the food continues to be outstanding with every dish ordered being a culinary delight.

Early start for our trip to Ranakpur tomorrow. Unfortunately no pics as the gerbils in this machine cant run fast enough.