Desert city of Jaisalmer

The former kingdom with the same name, Jaisalmer, was my next destination after Jaipur. It was a 12-hour train ride overnight on a seat bench shared with two other passengers. The ticket was for class 2S, which is a bit above the General Class ticket. I told myself that I would not sleep well during the train ride, so why spend more money on a more expensive berth? At the end of the journey, I was able to lie down on the empty bench and sleep more or less. Two hours before the end of the journey, a Spaniard joined us. He had lost his mobile phone, which fell out of the window while the train was moving. So he got off at the next station, went back by rickshaw, only to find that it was no longer there... Anyway, I had a companion to walk to the hostel at five in the morning.

In the middle of the city is a fort, where people still live today. Around it is the city. And around the city is desert or bushland. What stands out here are the very intricately decorated facades of the houses, with very fine sandstone patterns.

A major attraction for tourists, like myself, is the camel safari, with camel riding and sleeping in the desert. I did this on the second day. We took a jeep out of the city to a small village 30 km away from Jaisalmer.

Once we arrived there, we had the honor of getting on a camel and riding it for 45 minutes. It's not particularly comfortable, as you will notice with sore muscles in your buttocks the next morning. You also quickly realize that you are supporting animal cruelty, even though my 75kg probably means nothing to the camel.

Upon arriving at a place that doesn't necessarily look like you imagine the desert, the camp was set up for the night. There were some dunes that gave you an approximate desert feeling, but with bushland surrounding them. There was prepared food, chai, and in the evening we sat around the campfire because it gets quite cold at night. The stars were visible, but unfortunately the Milky Way could not be seen. After more or less good sleep, we had breakfast in the morning, a painful ride back to the village, and then we headed back.

I spent another 3 days in Jaisalmer, mostly relaxed, doing laundry, reading, and eating pineapple. Next stop is Jodhpur, followed by Udaipur.