Snippets of Jaisalmer, India.

Snippets of Jaisalmer, India.

March 2004.

Cover photo courtesy of StoriesOfKabeera. 

If the urban sprawl of Jaipur had betrayed us with its misleading Pink City tagline, we were handsomely compensated by the extraordinary Golden City of Jaisalmer. This, dear friends, was my favourite place from my cross-country jaunt around India.

In fact, Jaisalmer delivered on the aforementioned goldenness immediately on that first evening as we made our way into the city’s ancient quarter. And boy was this no ordinary old town. Set on a dramatic ridge of sandstone, its streets wind in, around and beyond Jaisalmer Fort, a stunning 860-year old fortress built by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Wandering Jaisalmer’s beguiling ancient quarter is like being in a real life fairytale. There are impossibly gorgeous townhouses and temples carved and sculpted from yellow sandstone.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Come here at night and that yellow bleeds into orange and gold. It almost pains me to look at my old photos and what a horrible injustice they are to the magic of the place. While I don’t often go back to places I’ve visited, I would surely make an exception for Jaisalmer.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Making friends in India’s Golden City.

Inside the fort there were new friends seemingly around every corner. We chatted to shopkeepers sitting in the various townhouses (known as havelis) and met an amusing barber and his father. As we worked our way through all the usual introductions, the barber kept running his fingers through his hair and combing his moustache.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

My own hair was quite shaggy, thus I decided to get a haircut, a service which came with a complimentary shave and head massage. All the while his father sat like a statue in his chair, a serious look on his face that never once flickered. Upon paying, I asked if I could take a photo of them. “Yes, but let me wear your sunglasses” insisted the barber, “I will look cool”. 

Watching the cricket, Jaisalmer style.

At some point our wanderings brought us to a large public square where a sizeable crowd of locals was watching a cricket game on a comically small TV, perched on the ledge of a chiselled temple. I had to giggle, because I realised that if you weren’t in the first few rows of onlookers, it was impossible to see anything.

What a huge surprise I got one evening when we stumbled upon Jaisalmer’s famous 8 July Restaurant. I mean seriously, an eatery that someone had been kind enough to create in honour of my birthday.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Needless to say, I persuaded Allan to have dinner there. And yes, the owner Mr. Bhatia (also born on July the 8th) was tickled to hear about the birthday connection. I even made sure to show him my passport, in case he thought I was pulling his chain. The curries and fruit smoothies we had that night were great. However, secretly I was disappointed not to get even a rudimentary discount.

On the rooftop at Hotel Renuka.

Our Jaisalmer base was the lovely Hotel Renuka. My budget room was basic, but came with a comfortable bed and the cleanest bathroom of that entire cross-country trip. Foolishly, both Allan and I declined to pay extra for air con. Unfortunately, the fans didn’t cut it, hence we spent most of our time up on the rooftop where a cool breeze relieved our general discomfort.

Hotel Renuka’s Thar Desert Camel Safari Tour.

It was also through Hotel Renuka that we booked our unforgettable overnight camel safari through the Thar Desert. We were each given our own camels for the trek and mine was a magnificent beast by the name of Lalou.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

That camel safari stands as one of my most treasured travel experiences of the last 22+ years. I remember feeling like such an intrepid adventurer as we slogged our way through the desert towards the Pakistani border under the burning sun.

Journeying Through the Thar Desert.

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Furthermore, I’ll never forget our guide that day, a larger than life character called Mr. Magoo. No, I’m not making that up. His lilting voice, colourful stories and quick-fire jokes made the trip even more special. I know I’ll always remember him. 

Mr. Magoo and his motley crew.

We had a great group for that safari, which included two Japanese guys and a pair of English girls, Lindsay and Holly. I’ve deliberately chosen not to give too much away about our adventures in the Thar Desert. Rather, I encourage you to have a read of my short story Lalou for the full lowdown. Thank you Jaisalmer for providing me with my most memorable Snippets of India. Hopefully we’ll meet again someday. 

Snippets of Jaisalmer.

Check out more of my travel reports from across India.

For a deeper look at my time in the country, have a read of my short story collection Incidents in India.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 30 countries.