Thursday, December 24, 2009

Day 4:
Today was the most fabulous day so far. Seriously, if you are eager to visit Rajasthan, make sure you visit Jaisalmer. It is the only place where you can have the complete desert experience. And I have'nt yet seen Sonar Kella! I mean I have seen it, but from outside.

Today we started early. At eight o'clock we were on the road headed for Jaisalmer from Bikaner. On the way we halted at Ramdeora and went past Pokhran. A few kilometres from Pokharan we stopped to have our lunch in a roadside dhaba. We were still about a hundred kilometres away from Jaisalmer. A few kilometres from Jaisalmer I had my first glimpse of Sonar Kella. Words can't describe my excitement at the sight of it! It is a huge fortress with an entire village inside it! But the real surprise was to come later. When we reached our hotel, it took me a lot of effort to tear off my sight from the Sonar Kella to look at the hotel. It's just opposite to the fortress! There is a wonderful view of the fortress from the hotel terrace. And I didn't miss the opportunity to take pictures of it!

Afterwards at around five o'clock in the evening we started for Sam, 45 kilometres from Jaisalmer. It is the point from where the Thar Desert starts. Near this point there are many resorts where you can stay in tents. We chose rather not to. In the desert the cold is unbearable after nightfall. But we did have some experience. I rode on a camel for two kilometres! It was fabulous! And while others were riding two on one I rode alone! I'm so very proud of myself! After this we saw sunset in the desert. I tried to stay for long after sun down but sadly that's not allowed so we came back to the resort where we saw live performance of Rajasthani folk music and dance. While sitting there we were served tea, coffee and snacks. Some of my favourite Rajasthani folk songs were performed by the singers like Kesariya Balam, Nimbooda, Dhol Baaje. But the cold was too much. My hands were growing stiff. Atlast we decided to take our dinner and go back to Jaisalmer. The dinner was a complete Rajasthani one. I tasted the famous dal bati churma for the first time, although I didn't like it much. Then we made our way through the desert and the night to Jaisalmer. That drive was out of the world! Starry night sky, desert and moon. What else do you want? I, of course, wanted my boyfriend there! Missed him a lot. But you cant have all things at once. I mean, life's good at times, but it's never perfect!

1 comment:

  1. Wow!!! Seriously I am dying to be able to see the desert at night, your descriptions are beautiful...

    ReplyDelete