And just like that, we were off to Jaisalmer and we were REALLY excited to get out and enjoy the desert life.
We got on a bus to Jaisalmer, one of the western-most cities of India, right next to the border of Pakistan. When we arrived, we decided to stay inside the fort walls.
This is easily one of the most interesting forts in the whole country because it’s still in use. The fort houses all kinds of restaurants, guesthouses, temples, shops and tour offices, it’s like a giant sandstone bazaar-lined maze.. and it looks exactly like it was the inspiration behind the Aladdin movies! LOL.
We stayed for a few days relaxing and eating our way through Jaisalmer, enjoying some delicious Rajasthani curries, we bought a few souvenirs, and we shopped around for the right tour office to book our little trip to the desert!
In the end, we went with Kafila Desert Holidays and JK Desert Safari, because they offer extremely fair prices for excursions into the desert, and the guys, Janab and Jaswant, who are running the show are absolutely lovely. They’re super knowledgeable and incredibly friendly, they even offered to hold our bags for us so we didn’t have to lug everything we had out into the desert. They really made the decision a very easy one.. and very exiting!!!!
We were a little tight on time at this point, so we decided on 1 night and 2 days in the desert, although we wanted to stay longer. We boarded the jeep in the city, and we rode west for an hour or 2 towards the emptiness of the scrub trees, golden sands and wind-blown dunes.
After some time, we stopped at a little ruined village to stroll around and explore what's left of the crumbling walls and structures.
Back on the road, we eventually arrived at a tiny village and met with the desert people who lead the tours. We were a little group of 6 people and we all got our own camels. Nicole's camel was named Johnny Walker and Ange was riding Mama Mia!!
At first, riding the camels was kind of awkward, their legs are so long!! But after a little adjustment, we actually think it's easier and more comfortable than riding a horse.
We rode the camel for a few hours enjoying the dip and toss of the saddle and the beautiful scenery all around us. The sun was getting lower on the horizon and we made a quick stop to rest the camels and to gather some wood for the fire that evening.
Minutes before the sun sank below the horizon, we arrived at the desert camp and ran up the dunes to enjoy one of the most gorgeous sunsets we’ve seen in our lives.
We giddily ran off the edge of the dunes, jumping down through the sand like children!
As we turned to make our way back to the camp, we noticed an unbelievably round, full moon rising up over the desert and the sand dunes.
Our camp was located at the bottom of a massive sand dune, they’ve built a short, wooden wall about 30 feet long, as a wind breaker, and that is the only shelter. Our desert guides had already started the fire in order to cook the dinner and keep us all warm. Our little group gathered together on picnic blankets sipping chai and telling stories of our different experiences in India while the safari men prepared our meal. After a couple hours relaxing and enjoying the good conversation and the MASSIVE full moon, they brought us a delicious vegetarian curry with the flavor of the smoky wood fire.. fucking splendid!!
After the dinner, the rest of the group got back in the jeep and headed back to the city, but we were sleeping under the open sky for the night. We huddled around the fire with our camel man, Roja (pronounced Rosa), and he told us some funny stories about his beloved camels and the simple life of the desert villages.
Soon it was time to turn in for the night, so they got us some wooden bed frames. where we put a few warm blankets down to sleep on and a few to sleep under as well.. The desert is cold AF at night time!!! We literally put on every layer of clothing from our backpacks and lay down under that spectacular sky full of stars and that giant, bright, full moon shining down on us. It was, hands down, the best million-star hotel we’ve ever stayed in!!
The next morning, we woke up early with the birds to a cup of hot chai and a beautiful orange sun rising up over the peaks of the dunes.
We had a nice, simple breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and toast, we tidied the camp and it was time to leave our beautifully simple desert home behind.
The camels were prepared again and we hopped back on to make the hour journey back to our jeep and back to reality.
We had a truly amazing experience in the Thar Desert!!!
Now though, it was time to say goodbye to Rajasthan and start our very LONG 42 hour bus journey to Goa. Next we’ll tell you all about our adventures on the incredible beaches of India.
****If anyone would like contact details for Jaswant of Kafila Holidays, or Janab of JK Desert Safari, get in touch with us and we’d be happy to put you in touch. They can arrange for longer desert trips as well as traditional desert village visits for as long as you’d like to stay. We highly, HIGHLY recommend going with these guys because the camels are treated well loved by their care takers. This also helps to support the village people and protect their way of life. and truly