17th February: Jaisalmer fort and a camel ride through the desert

Our Jaisalmer guide picked us up from the hotel a bit before 9am and we drove over to the entrance of the fort, where he started the tour. He was very enthusiastic and gave us lots of great information about the city of Jaisalmer and the fort.

Looking up at the fort

Wandering through the narrow streets of the fort

We made our way through the entrance to the fort and along the winding streets of the fort. We came to a central square, overlooked by the former residence of the Maharawal of Jaisalmer. There the guide explained that the fort may be divided into two areas: the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian neighbourhood; one off to our left, the other to our right. To thank them for their service, the Maharawal granted lands to three castes: the Brahman, the Rajputs (warriors), and the tradesmen. Brahman and tradesmen are vegetarian, whereas Rajputs are not.

From there we were led over to a complex of seven Jain temples dating from the 12th to the 16th century. Only two were open at that time. Rikhabdev temple displayed beautifully carved statues of upsalas and hindu deities. Although we are getting better at recognising the main gods and goddesses, we still find them fairly confusing. What I thought was a statue of Shiva due to the presence of a trident was actually Durga, another aspect of Shiva's wife Parvati. Apparently the best way to identify them is to look for their "vehicle", usually represented at their feet (Shiva with Nandi, the bull; Ganesh with a rat…).

The central shrine was surrounded by marble statues of the 24 prophets of Jainism (Tirthankaras), each recognisable by his symbol (crescent moon, ox, etc.). Jains are vegetarian and do not eat what is grown in the soil (potatoes, onions, etc.), apparently because they might contain tiny living organisms. Another explanation we heard was that onion and garlic raise one's body temperature and thus hinder meditation. Some Jain devotees live like hermits in the forest, are naked and wear a mask to avoid swallowing insects.

Inside the Rikhabdev temple

Delicate carvings

Sunlight on the carvings

Chandraprabhu, the second temple we visited, was dedicated to the eighth Tirthankara, whose symbol is the crescent moon. We entered through a finely chiselled arch. The carvings of the statues were slightly finer than in the first temple, but still not comparable to those of Khajuraho.

On the gallery of the Chandraprabhu temple

200 Jain families used to live in Jaisalmer, which was on the silk route before the British diverted it to the port of Bombay. At the time everything was transported by camel, which is easy to imagine as we saw a few camels pulling carriages along the road. Jaisalmer's decline was accentuated by the partition between India and Pakistan and the interruption of the trade routes between the two countries. The wealthy Jain families thus left the town to exercise their trading activities elsewhere in India or abroad.

Tourism is now the main industry in Jaisalmer and the upper town (inside the fort) is full of hotels and shops directed at tourists. One of the hawkers standing outside a shop produced the best sales pitch we had heard so far: "Can I help you spend your money in my shop? 99% discount." Nevertheless, some people are still living there. Our guide took us inside a few hotels to show us "life" in the fort and introduced us to part of his family. He himself was born in the fort but later moved downtown. Many of the facades of the houses displayed really fine carvings.

One of the families living inside the fort

Gypsy women wearing and selling traditional Rajasthani jewellery

Outside of the gates we made our way up a narrow stone staircase to the top of an old haveli with a great view over the fort. We paused there for a cup of tea, then left for a wander through the narrow streets of the area outside the fort.

View from the rooftop terrace of the old haveli

A lot of facades displayed finely carved balconies and lattice screens similar to those inside the fort. The increasingly shop-lined streets signalled that we were nearing a tourist attraction. To our right, down a narrow street, were five havelis forming the Patwa-ki Haveli. They are a splendid example of the wealth of some Jain families, with facades decorated with exquisitely carved windows and balconies. They were built between 1800 and 1860 by 5 brothers who were in the jewellery business. The exterior is the most stunning part but we also really enjoyed a brief wander inside one of them. It was quite well-preserved and displayed other fine carvings and paintings.

Vegetable sellers in the street

Patwa-ki, the most opulent haveli in Jaisalmer

At the top of the haveli

Our guide then took us to a silversmith's house. He took us to the basement where he stored an impressive array of new bracelets, rings, and earrings, as well as a beautiful collection of traditional antique jewellery that they had received in (part-) exchange from families needing jewels for a dowry (the bride's family have to provide her with jewels representing a certain value when she gets married). It is now illegal to demand a dowry but we have been told everywhere in India that it is still very common. I managed to resist the temptation to buy anything (it was probably not such a great challenge for John). On the way out, we watched a wedding procession go by and admired the pretty and colourful saris that the women wore.

Wedding procession in the street

Since we were in a rush to get back to the hotel, we hopped into a rickshaw. We then quickly ordered lunch and packed for our tour in the desert. Del Boy picked us up at 1:30pm sharp in front of the hotel. With us tucked up at the back of the jeep, he drove us first to a small village in the desert, around 30 minutes out of Jaisalmer, where we were shown inside a traditional hut (built from mud and cow dung). We then drove to an oasis a few kilometres away where a truck was loading up with water.

Village in the middle of the desert

Posing with a couple of local women

The oasis

Khabha fort was our last stop before being introduced to our camels. The fort offered a great view over the area, including a ruined village nearby, but was not in good condition.

Del Boy showing us the way to Khabha fort

View of ruined village fron the fort

Our camels were noisy when we arrived, probably realising they would soon be put to work. The most impressive part in riding a camel is probably when it stands up or goes down. You have to hold on tight to what you can and lean backwards. Once they are up and moving, it is actually smoother than riding a horse. It would have been even better with stirrups. After 30 minutes of a 90 minute ride I could already feel my leg muscles stiffening.

Meeting the camels and our guide

I just about managed to cling on

On the move

The sun was really strong but, inspired by all the turbans I had seen, I managed to tie my scarf around my face. Our guides were very friendly and we were even lucky enough to hear one of them sing. After about an hour and a half of trekking through the desert, our small caravan left the rocky desert scrub and reached beautiful sand dunes. There we met up with two Australian girls and John's mother (who had needed to get down from the camel and be picked up by jeep because her bad knee was getting too painful). Our guides lit a campfire and prepared some chai for us. A man then arrived on his camel; I thought it might be a musician, but he turned out to be carrying something incredibly valuable: chilled Kingfisher beer. We ordered a couple of bottles and enjoyed this refreshing aperitif. It was then time for sunset and we wandered around in search of a good spot, away from footprints.

Trekking through the desert scrub

Camels, sheep, and goats roaming free

Shielded from the sun

Signs of life amid beautiful dunes

Smile!

Enjoying a well-deserved rest

We could only see a few people, far away in the distance, so the agency's promise that we would enjoy a sunset tour in the desert far from the tourist crowds was honoured. After sunset, we were served dinner with rather dubious standards of hygiene, but we crossed our fingers and hoped it would be ok (it was). We had some aloo ghobi, dahl, rice, and chapatis. As it was getting colder, they started another fire for us. We all gathered around and enjoyed a really nice evening, chatting away with the Australian girls. They were going to spend the night there, wrapped up in a couple of blankets, which we all found courageous.