A
 |
| Women sitting in the shade in the Thar Desert |
The Thar, also known as the Great Indian Desert, covers about 200,000 sq km in north-western India, between India and Pakistan. It gets up to 50 degrees Celsius there, so we knew it would be a hot bus ride.
Unfortunately, we had to wait quite some time before the bus arrived in Jodhpur, and the sun was already hot. The waiting place was very scruffy with no shelter or services, and the bus, when it finally arrived 40 minutes late, was just as scruffy!
 |
| A village bus stop in the Thar Desert |
We stopped at every village on the way, which added about an hour to the trip! But although it was hot and tiring, it was also very interesting because we got to see the villages along the route, and the way Thar Desert people dress, and their houses etc.
We and two others were the only white faces on the bus, which made for interesting conversation. But as we travelled onwards in that cluttered old bus, it became too hot to talk much.
It was 39 degrees when we arrived in Jaisalmer and it went up to 42 degrees later. Far too hot for us Kiwis!
 |
| Marg outside our ornate and golden Jaisalmer hotel, the Royal Haveli |
We got to our hotel, the Royal Haveli, which is a very ornate building, constructed of Jaisalmer's beautiful golden sandstone.
Jaisalmer, one of the royal cities of Rajasthan state, is known as the Golden City because of the yellow sandstone used for its buildings. It is sourced from the surrounding areas.
It is a walled city and its crowning feature is the Jaisalmer Fort, also known as the Golden Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 |
| Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
We'd seen the fort from the bus on our way in, and it looked so big and imposing. Nestled on a rise, it towers over the surrounding desert.
This Fort is one of the oldest in Rajasthan, having stood for over 800 years. It is classified as a 'living fort' because nearly a fourth of the 78,000 people in Jaisalmer live inside its walls, and for many years, the city of Jaisalmer was the Fort.
 |
| Our rooftop restaurant view of Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
That evening, we found a rooftop restaurant for our evening meal, and to our delight, we had a fabulous view of the Fort all lit up on its hill.
The next morning, we walked to the Fort to do some sightseeing. It still accommodates plenty of houses, shops, a palace, and several ornate Jain temples within its impressive walls
 |
| The ornately carved Palace at Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
Once inside the Fort, our first stop was the Maharaja’s Palace or the Palace of Maharawal. This is a series of ornately carved golden sandstone buildings, with museum pieces displayed in some of the rooms. It was very interesting.
Leaving there, we spent a lot of time wandering around the tiny narrow streets and lanes of the Fort.
 |
| Narrow streets and interesting architecture inside Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
Fortunately, the narrow size created shade which helped us survive the extreme heat. But the narrow size was originally designed so that enemies could not take their elephants into the city. The narrowness reminded us of the old city of Agra, except Jaisalmer is cleaner, and more touristy.
After a while, we stopped for a cold coffee with ice-cream at a very small, but quaint café/bookshop. It was interesting speaking with the owner about Jaisalmer and India, while enjoying our delicious and cooling drinks.
 |
| Cow in a street of Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
Leaving the coffee shop, we almost bumped into a cow; they roam freely in the streets here and in all the cities we've seen in India so far.
Walking around, we admired the attractive, ornately carved golden sandstone buildings throughout the Fort. The whole place is quite beautiful.
 |
| View from one of the turrets at Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
There were many streets that took us to viewing spots on the massive walls so we were able to view the rest of the city from a variety of places. It was all so interesting and attractive.
On the downside though, we have never encountered so many touts in one place at any one time, as in those narrow wee streets. It was very hard to ignore them and we got rather tired of saying "No thank you"!
 |
| Narrow streets full of tours in Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
At one point, while walking down an interesting but very narrow street, we had up to five touts yelling at us at the same time, vying for attention. Then as we moved on, the next five started and so on down the street. The street was so narrow that they were just about touching us, and we'd had enough of it.
Leigh stopped, put her hands up and addressed all the touts in the street (all men). She told them that she just wanted to walk from one end of the street to the other to admire their shops, and that if she wanted to buy anything, she would let them know.
 |
| Another narrow street full of touts in Jaisalmer Fort (UNESCO) |
Jaisalmer is known for its silver jewellery. We didn't buy jewellery, but we did buy a beautiful wall-hanging that was made by a women's a co-op out of re-cycled bits of very old rugs. It's a stunning red colour.
 |
| Jaisalmer street outside the UNESCO Fort |
The next day, we explored the streets outside the Fort. They were quite busy and interesting, and thankfully, not as touristy. The population of the Fort grew over time, and by the 17th century, settlements popped up outside the Fort walls and this area now forms the great part of Jaisalmer.
The streets outside the Fort have a different look and feel to those inside, and it seemed more relaxed to us. Perhaps because it's commerce is more about servicing the Fort rather than tourism.
 |
| The market in the old city outside the Fort |
Our exploration took us to the fruit and vegetable market. We loved the fresh-looking produce sold there; and there were some lovely restaurants nearby that we tried.
Heading back to our hotel later, we packed our gear ready to move on. We'd really enjoyed our break in Jaisalmer, and particularly loved the carved golden sandstone buildings and the intimacy of the narrow streets, despite the touts!
We now go to Jaipur for one night, before catching a train to the Ranthambore National Park and a tiger safari.
The above blog is part of our 2-month tour of India. The first blog on this tour is called "Off to Delhi"