Jaisalmer was the last stop and most western city on our tour. Our camel safari was first and we did that about 30 km west of Jaisalmer in a small village called Khuri. Our “hotel” was just a small collection of huts and we were told that we had a choice of sleeping in one of those, or sleeping in a tent in the desert. Ummm, neither? If we picked sleeping in the desert, we would have to come back for dinner and then go out again on the camels. We didn’t know how long it would be before riding a camel got old, so we said we would decide when we got back from our first ride.
All the camels were saddled up and sitting down waiting for us. Camels look really weird when they’re sitting down…they have reverse elbows. Katy and I each had our own camel and our own little boy who pulled the camel along. Child cruelty? Animal cruelty? Not sure, but probably both.
So, off we went into the desert. Not very far into it we decided that 3 hours on a camel would be plenty of time. They led us out to the sand dunes where we were supposed to watch the sunset. Well, no one told us that if you get to the dunes early, you have to sit there and wait for the sunset with the sand blowing in your face. Good thing I brought a scarf because I wrapped it all the way around my head while we waited. It turned out to be cloudy, so we told our little boys we wanted to go back early.
They had dinner waiting for us when we got back and then we went to bed in our hut with no AC. It was hot in our mud hut and we didn’t sleep very well. We got up early and made Rajeev take us to our air conditioned hotel in Jaisalmer right away. After we checked in and cooled off, we went to get massages. Apparently Katy and I unknowingly signed up for a couples massage because they put us side by side in the same room, haha.
We went shopping for the rest of the afternoon and then Rajeev took us to dinner with a Swiss couple and their driver who were with the same tour company. Rajeev showed us a picture of his wife and then a picture of his girlfriend. He even paid for our dinner. He said we were nice people to drive around so he wanted to treat us.
The next day we took a tour of the Jaisalmer Fort. It looks like a giant sand castle and half the town actually lives inside the fort. After that we went to Elizabeth’s friend Shakar’s store to do some last minute shopping before we got on the train to Delhi. Shankar insisted on having us over for lunch, so we went to his house and his wife cooked for us.
Then it was time to take the 19 hour train back to Delhi. Katy and I each had a bunk bed. I slept most of the way and the ride wasn’t that bad. The only bad thing was that we got off in Old Delhi instead of New Delhi. And that day there happened to be a taxi strike so we had to take the metro to New Delhi and then get an auto rickshaw to take us to our hotel…meanwhile carrying all our bags. It was AWFUL.
Our last day in India we did some last minute shopping and ordered room service before our flight. India was super chaotic and crazy but still awesome. I’m really glad I went, but I’m also glad I’m not there anymore:)
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