Jaisalmer Day 9

Listening to: Rajasthan Tribal Music

We really are in the desert here in Jaisalmer. It's so neat how diverse the state of Rajasthan is, from the lakes of Udaipur (although man made), to the mountains of Mt. Abu, the greenery of Jodhpur, and now the desert of Jaisalmer. It's a lot hotter here, but still a nice temperature as its not humid. There is sand everywhere.. And very few trees. There aren't many strays around the streets of this place, my guess is because food and water are a lot harder to come by. It makes me feel guilty for enjoying the pool yesterday... So much fresh water gone to waste.

It's really cool being in the desert. We had tea on a rooftop terrace today an the view was amazing. Jaisalmer is known as te Golden City because of the use f sandstone in the buildings, as well as the sandscape. We visited a man made lake this morning. It was very small and full of car fish! Big ones! Our guide gave 10 rupees to a mute boy who was adorable. He came back with a bag of toast for us to feed the fish. He kept pointing at our hair and our faces and giving us thumbs up and high fives. He was SO excited when we have him half the last to feed the fish himself.

The lake is sacred. It was Jaisalmers only source of water until the 19th century, keeping te city fairly small and population low. Today there are only 40,000 people living here and as a result is a city with one of the lowest populations in India. The architecture is really beautiful and intricately carved. We saw architecture in the city as late as 1997. It was hard to differentiate it from the architecture from 500 years earlier, except for the fact that the stone and wood shutters weren't as stained. I loved knowing that this sort of carving isn't a lost art and that skilled craftsmen today are the sons of those who did the same work hundreds of years earlier. Very cool.

The city itself was not nearly as busy as others. There were more cows in the city fort than in the streets (the city fort is the original city and is still the center). All te bulls were running angry down the narrow streets! Every five minutes people would yell and run an jump out of the way at the first chance they got. It freaked us out! Some of those bulls have HUGE horns, and a French Canadian we met at our last hotel told us that a man on his tour group got hit in the bum by bulls 3 times on their trip!!

We both bought a tee shirt and a mini Ganesha statue to give us luck wherever we go in the rest of our trip. It's a perfect souvenir... Small and sweet.

Tonight was absolutely amazing. We rode camels into the desert and watched the sun set. The desert here is the tenth largest in the world and we were just on the edge of it in the small dunes (still pretty good size dunes!) my camels name was Ragu... Which is similar to my Indian name, Mangu! He was 9 years old and really liked me! Ajdas camel was Desert Boy and he hated her. He kept trying to bite her slash drink her beer haha. After sunset we picked up speed with the camel owners on the back saddles. I actually found riding a camel very natural and easy once I got over the insanely scary beginning where the camel stands up back legs first. We rode to a desert camp where we were the only guess.

There were tents, a bonfire, and chairs set up. I tipped my camel driver (500 by accident instead of 100) and we sat by the fire while tribal girls and their brother danced and sang. There were enough seats for 30 people, but we were the only ones so it was like a private show! We then had a dinner of local cousin... Including desert chicken and desert spinach. My first meat I've had here in India... I felt too impolite to refuse it because they had one through so much trouble for us. I only had a few bites and explained that usually I am a vegetarian but that what I ate was delish. I wasn't lying either! The chicken was great. We were told it was fresh, just for us. I'm just hoping I don't regret it tomorrow on our 6 hour drive. The desert spinach in the other hand was bizarre. Right away I thought how it would have been something my mom would have enjoyed. The only similarity it had to spinach was the green color. It was spiced with nice masala, and the softer bits were quite good. The dish itself looked like a bunch of twigs... And most of it was sort of twig consistency. There were a few golden raisins in it... And I was lucky enough to bite down on a small pebble at one point! It was definitely the most authentic Indian food experience we have had though and I'm happy to have experienced it.

The Jaiselmer boss of our tour company was there, and he turned out to be one of the owners of this tent resort. He showed us the tent rooms they have, as well as one tent they have renovated and are planning on converting all tents to in the next year. Ajda and I both loved it and would absolutely love to go back and stay there next time we come to India. I believe it was 130 a night, and that includes all food and services except tips and drinks. Very reasonable for what it is... A desert camp, with fresh organic food, in the middle of no where. We loved it! And because we were with one if the owners, the night was on him. We're wishing We had ordered a second gin and tonic now! Haha

I'd say it was our best evening so far here in India. Simply gorgeous desert landscape, kind people, and a completely new experience. I really like it here in the golden city.

Tomorrow we drive to Bikaner, leaving by 8am. I'm so exhausted! Time for bed for this lady.