Day 7 to 10 Jaisalmer - Rajasthan

I had a pleasant night's sleep on the train, this time in the lower Sleeper Class, so only a lying place without air conditioning but with a cool draft. I was slightly chilly when the train rounded the last curve and came to a stop. The windows were unfortunately closed with protective grilles, so I couldn't catch a glimpse of my new destination yet.

Now the train had stopped and I got off, this sight was immediately heartwarming. It stood large and colossal on the horizon before sunrise. The Jaisalmer Fort.

This time someone won who was standing a bit away from the following available rickshaw drivers.

He took me directly into the inner part of the castle, right there behind a Jain temple was my small simple hotel. Once again, a stroke of luck. Now I had a few hours to rest and arrive before heading straight to the main highlight for the next few days: the Thar Desert for a desert safari.

We covered the first 30 km in a jeep, and a couple from England joined me. The first stop we made was at a lake for...? Yes, of course, for drinking chai, and the second stop was in a desert village, or what I would call a village of singing women. There we were greeted by many children and women singing and dancing without hesitation. In the end, they just wanted baksheesh, so we got in the car and sped off.

Now we reached a small desert village... time for chai again.

We switched from the jeep to a camel and rode off in incredible calmness. Ninety minutes through a backdrop of sand and steppe landscape as far as the eye can see. We now reached a large sand dune and at the latest, we were really in the desert and here we should stay not just for the next few hours, but the whole evening, yes the whole night...

At the end of the dune, we set up our camp, and our two desert guides took care of everything. In no time, they had lit a fire. And then we all sat in a circle while the two started preparing snacks and an Indian Rajasthan dinner.

What came out of it I would immediately call a culinary highlight of this trip: cooked vegetables, rice, and chapati baked on the fire, a delight for the taste buds.

By now, the sun had set, and we could just lean back as the camels went to their overnight camp. The campfire was lit and the 8 percent strong beer was served. The entertainment came from the mobile phone of one of the desert guides, Punjab music. A little technological progress is also a part of it here. At 9 pm, we retired to our sleeping bags. We slept under the starry sky, which was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

Morning broke, and I could already hear the first shout of chai, chai, chai...

So I quickly got out of the really warm sleeping bag, the first chai was ready with a sumptuous breakfast afterwards. Toast with jam, porridge, and fruit (bananas and papaya), all cooked again on the open fire. Then we packed up our things and rode back towards civilization with our camels. A fantastic trip into the desert comes to an end.

By noon, we were back in Jaisalmer. Here, I immediately immersed myself in the bustling castle life, no longer like in the Middle Ages, today it's just tourists that complete the picture. In the winding alleys, there was a lot of beautiful things to discover, and occasionally, I also got lost here and there.

The next morning, well-rested from a deep sleep, it suddenly hit me like a lightning bolt... when does my train actually depart? Well, yes, at 00:45 in the night, which means I simply overslept it!!! So, I decided to use this day to explore this fairytale-like beautiful place once more and take the night bus to Pushkar in the evening...