JAISALMER: My First Solo Trip

6th Jan 2017

I woke up to the loud hawking of platform sellers selling breakfast, snacks and beverages in the train - an usual alarm clock in the Indian Railways. On the previous night I boarded DLI - JSM Express train from Jaipur's Gandhi Nagar railway station at around 11:45 pm and crashed on the allotted berth soon.

After waking up, I checked the time and it was around 9 am. Apparently, the train was halted at some station on the way. I got out of my berth and stepped out onto the platform. It was a small platform as compared to that of Jaipur's. 'Pokaran' - the board on one of the extremities of the platform read.

I was so thrilled and excited - for the first time I was independent and on my own away from family and friends. Bought some biscuits and coke from the platform vendor and got back into the train as the journey resumed.

At that time, I was unaware of this town's historical importance which paved path for India to become a Nuclear power. After a few months, I got to know the whole story and regretted not visiting that place. The nuclear test sites and the Pokaran fort could have been a thrilling experience. I would definitely suggest stopping by in this town on your next trip to Jaisalmer.

Without wasting much time I started my day by visiting the fort itself. The route to the top of the fort was through the market area. The colorful, narrow and overcrowded streets gave the market more dense look accompanied by the street cries of vendors attracting tourists with creative adverts.

After a quick stroll through the market, I reached the entrance of the fort.

After walking slight uphill for a while, I got to the view point where a canon pointing the city was placed.

Sitting there for a while I looked at that city and beyond. Near the horizon there was a slight strip of desert meeting the blue sky. A cool winter breeze and dim lit sun in the sky made it so mesmerizing!

On the way back, there's the entrance for the Royal palace of the King.

Raja Ka Mahal is a royal palace in the Jaisalmer Fort known for its multi-tiered facade & ornate, decorative balconies. The palace is transformed into a museum of artifacts and war weapons from the ancient era of Royal dynasty. The walls and pillars are full of artistic hand-sculptured designs. Just Marvelous.

Not only interiors of the palace, but the scenic view from the corridors and the terrace, the view of the city was spectacular. I guess people living in there had splendid evenings watching over the city and the horizon at the infinity.

This is the largest Haveli in Jaisalmer - cluster of 5 small havelis - and stands in a narrow lane. The first impression was spellbinding. The large windows opening onto the narrow lanes and the craft sculptured on the window frames was one of its kind!

In front of the Buildings were street artists, chiseling and selling their hand-made puppets.

And musical instruments being played by the obscure talent of those streets.

They were really melodious!

The lake was just nearby, and on the other side of the hotel where I was staying in. So, I decided to spend the rest of the evening, boating in the lake and fall back to hotel room as soon as it gets dark.

Unfortunately, the authorities didn't allowed me to boat as at least two people are required to row it in the lake. First I thought of asking people (basically strangers) who might be solo travelers or a group who could add me in with them. But, alas, my hesitation took over my will to boat and I ended up staring at people around me instead of actually asking them a little help.

And that's how I spent most the evening looking at others' boat and feeling the breeze getting cooler and cooler as the time pass on the banks of the lake.

After a while, I decided to go back with the dissatisfaction of not getting into lake, and take some rest in the hotel.

On the way back, a small evening market emerged near the Gadisar lake road.

An interesting shop I came across was an antique store where unique kind of vessels were on sale made of Habur Stone.

Being a guy from science field, I was stunned listening to the claims of locals and shopkeepers about the 'magical' Curd setting stone which naturally sets milk into curd without fermentation. This was the first time I ever heard of such stones. So I digged-in a bit to find articles about both for and against the claims.

I didn't buy it, though I was fascinated by the science behind these stones.

7th Jan 2017

I woke up around 9 am the next day. I was too tired to do anything at the night, so I had dinner at some stall in the market and came back and crashed on my cozy bed.

I supposedly had to check out of the hotel by 11.30 am but my drive to the desert was not until 2 pm. So, checked out of the hotel and I roamed around the city by foot to discover new off-map places and routes around.

Soon the clock hands ticked 2:00 pm and I received the cab driver's call for the pick up for the desert trip; whom I booked the previous day.

The place was filled with tourists and selfie-people all over. Still there was a different kind of solitude that the place was holding within, as if the place was alone - abandoned (as it was) - amidst the crowd. I took my time to check the place - demolished houses, half broken pillars, rock ceilings and sand all over. The stones and bricks were not cemented but stacked upon one another. I was intoxicated by such a loneliness.

I spent around one hour there, after which my driver suggested to start off for the dunes.

After some 30-40 mins ride, I entered Sam Sand dunes, and it was the first time I ever saw a sand dunes in real. I was so thrilled, I kept my face out the window for rest of the ride to the camp. There were people enjoying dunes, activities like parasailing and the local vendors making their daily wages out of them.

After resting a bit, we were served with evening tea, after which camel safari in the desert was arranged by the camp.

The camels took the tourists onto a high dune and waited there till the sunset. Meanwhile, the camel shepherds were offering a tour in the interior of the desert for extra money.

I was not convinced with their rates and decided to go by foot, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I was rolling, sliding, and running on the sand tracking the paths of other camels with tourists who were having a tour in the interior part.

After a while I returned back to the 'sunset spot' - on the highest dune and relaxed watching the sun go down. As the night approached the visibility was becoming blurred with winter fog.

Everything seemed to be a dream!

The night came upon, bringing the chills of the desert, it was around 2 degree Celsius temperature and I was covered in layers in my tent.

Around at 8 pm, the camp management arranged a gala night with Rajasthani folk dance and bonfire which followed with dinner. We were offered cushions to sit on the carpeted floor round the bonfire. The sky got clear after a while with full moon brightening the place.

It was really magical and romantic! Alas, I was on a solo trip.

8th Jan 2017

Morning check out was around 8-9 pm, so I woke up early to spend some more time with the desert.

To my surprise, the visibility outside the tent was negligible.

I tried to go into desert just to see how it seems to be in the sand in that kind of fog. And trust me, you don't want to do that. A few meters into the desert and I was about to get lost in there. There was white dense blanketed fog in all directions and I was finding it difficult to find my way back.

Thanks to three street dogs who came barking onto me and after realizing I'm no threat to them, they guided me out.

The king size bed with cozy warmers were all mine in the tent that night! I slept like a baby!