A view of the Jaisalmer fort from the roof of the hotel. Jaisalmer is the "Golden City" as they built with yellow sandstone here. We are also in a desert area here, so the buildings match the yellow sands.
Some of the finer houses in Jaisalmer have incredibly intricate stonework on their facades. These are called Havelis and were built by the wealthy merchants of days gone by.
One of the narrow lanes of Jaisalmer showing more intricately carved facades.
We are just about to enter into the main gate of the Jaisalmer fort.
This is the view of Jaisalmer from the ramparts of the fort. You can see the hotel as the brighter coloured building to the left of the lake.
Outside one of the Jain temples in Jaisalmer.
On our way out to the camel trek, we pass a wind farm. The rotating blades narrow as they approach the hub leading me to think that they are variable pitch; which makes sense given the range of wind speeds they have to deal with.
These are the cenotaphs of the kings and queens. The royals were cremated here and a 'tombstone' planted under the dome.
The figure of the man on the horse represents a king. The 8 figures next to him represent the wives and concubines that committed suttee at the cremation, burning themselves alive upon the pyre. Suttee was outlawed in the 19th century. Nowadays the wife can go to Rio with the inheritance.
View of the wind farm from the cenotaphs. Imagine dodging that lot on the ridge as you fly (or slalom) through them in the Bergfalke.
We prepare to mount the camels for our desert trek. Our tour leader, Rishab is already aboard on the the right of the picture.
I'm looking relaxed after a hard day in the saddle.
Our camel drivers have some fun in the dunes. They were an interesting bunch. We were challenged to foot races, wrestling and arm-wrestling. Adam won his race, I lost mine, and Martin was 1 for 2 in wrestling. And they all wanted to marry an Australian girl.
The trek took us to within about 45 km of the Pakistani border. You can't get much closer than that; the Indian army will stop you if you try.
Finally, a restaurant that tells it like it is! As we leave Jaisalmer after our desert adventure, I spotted this gem and had to snap it.
