Relaxing in Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer has been great so far, we both really love this city. We’re staying here for 7 nights so we’ve had time to relax, read and just enjoy the surroundings. The people here are so friendly and the Artist’s Colony is amazing.

Everyone lives around the hotel in small huts and earnings from the hotel support the artists around it. During the day we wander around the fort and the markets and at night we relax on the roof-deck overlooking the Jaisalmer fort listening to traditional Muslim music performers under the stars. This area in itself is magical and the food, probably some of the best I’ve had. We’ve both been sticking to a vegetarian diet but ended up giving in for some spaghetti bolognese last night (goat meat), I’ve never had goat but I highly recommend it! The best thing about the meals? Dinner for two always under $10, but usually under $5… I’m attaching a picture of the view from our roof-deck and the view from our room window (there was a bull wandering around this am). I’m also including a picture of the street scene.

Arrival in Jaisalmer

We arrived in Jaisalmer (which is about 40 miles from Pakistan) to see empty streets and a lot of police/soldiers. We arrived at our hotel and found out that there was Muslim/Hindu fighting and everything in the city was shut down. Apparently, some muslims gave some poisonous flowers to about 25 cows which died. As a result, the owners killed two Muslims in the market after which everyone gathered in the streets. We decided to stay in the hotel and had a great evening. The place we are staying is the Artist's Hotel within a colony of local artists. In the evening local musicians come to the roof deck (which overlooks the beautiful Jaisalmer Fort) to play traditional Muslim music. The people there are so friendly, teaching us how to play traditional instruments, etc. We’ve met quite a few travelers as well from Holland, England and Australia.

Holy Rats in Deshnok, Karni Mata Temple

One of our favorite places so far, the Temple of Rats. This temple is a sight to see, the holy rodents of Karni Mata are considered to be incarnations of story-tellers and they are swarming inside of the temple. I am embarrassed to say that I screamed when one of them ran over my foot upon entering the temple. You can’t avoid them really as there are literally thousands inside running all over. One even stopped for a moment on Matt’s foot while he was taking a picture. Two little kids gave us snacks to feed them and we just walked around trying to avoid stepping on them (or getting stepped on!). Apparently, there is one white rat which is God and if you see him it is very good luck. We both received our blessings and drove back to Bikaner.

Bikaner Sightseeing

We first went to Junagarh fort in Bikaner, built in 1588 by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the army of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is a beautiful fort with incredible views over the city. We also went to the two Jain temples in the area. I was surprised in getting out of the car, swarmed by a bunch of little girls wanting my hand sanitizer. They fought it out of my hand and started running down the street. So strange…

The Road to Bikaner

Our drive to Bikaner was beautiful, we are getting into the heart of the desert and the scenery is changing. Camels and herds of cows and sheep is a common site and it’s strange how everyone is able to share the road with no problem. It is common for a herd of sheep or goats to be in the middle of the road or to have to weave around cows and water buffalo. Chabalil shared jokes and songs from Nepal and we arrived in Bikaner before we knew it.

Drive to Mandawa

We were lucky enough to be able to book Chabalil for our drive through to Jaisalmer. We plan on stopping for two nights along the way (one night in Mandawa and one night in Bikaner) as Jaisalmer is about 900 kilometers west on the border with Pakistan. We were both more than ready to get out of the city of Delhi for the smaller towns in Rajasthan. Mandawa is in a very small town about 5 hours west of Delhi and it’s known for the beautifully painted havelis from the 18th century. The drive there was beautiful with so many interesting sites along the way. We stopped for a bit in Fatehpur, a small town with one haveli restored by a French painter named Nadine Prince and then went on to our hotel in Mandawa, an amazing haveli.

Mandawa Havelis

We are staying in the most beautiful haveli in Mandawa, it has beautiful rooms and views of the town. For only $20/night, this is by far the nicest place we have stayed so far. The staff have been so welcoming and we stayed in the evening for a puppet show (I even took the ropes for a bit!). Mandawa is full of havelis, most are not restored but magical in their own rite. We stopped in one haveli and ended up doing an impromptu photo shoot when the owner started draping clothes on us. We retired back to our hotel at sunset as we have an early drive in the morning to Bikaner (about 4 hours away).