Bricks, Cranes and a Painted Ceiling: On the Road to Jaisalmer

A bit of yoga to start the day, then a very long haul: over 300 km to Jaisalmer, with our driver Puneet at the wheel.

First stop was a brickworks. These are not announced by signage they are literally just straight next to the highway. In previous years this tour group have been able to participate and make some bricks but everything is weather dependant when making, sundrying and then baking them. The clay is dug, mixed with water into a mud and pressed by hand into wooden moulds. The raw bricks dry in the sun and air, usually for 3 to 10 days, then get stacked in a kiln and fired. The tall chimney we saw belongs to India's most common kiln, the Bull's trench kiln, a design from a British engineer in the late 1800s. It burns continuously, with fresh bricks going in one end while finished ones come out the other. India makes well over 100 billion bricks a year, so there are plenty of these furnaces around here. 🧱

A shallow dent called a "frog" is pressed into the top of each brick as it's moulded, and it usually carries the maker's mark, which is how a brick can be traced back to where it came from. The moulding is mostly done by contract labour, paid per 1,000 bricks and often recruited by a contractor who offers an advance (similar to the way shearing gangs operate in nz).

Cranes

Then it was on to a man-made lake that's now a sanctuary for migrating birds, home to thousands of demoiselle cranes. They're the world's smallest cranes, and the French name means "young lady". Every year they fly in from Central Asia to spend winter here, arriving from about August and leaving around March. The lake is one of several old reservoirs built by villagers centuries ago and are now protected conservation reserves 🦢

Lunch was at a desert oasis restaurant where I picked up some souvenirs. 

Then we rolled into Jaisalmer, the Golden City, named for the honey-coloured sandstone it's built from.

We're staying at Hotel Heritage House, which is the best accommodation and the best service of the trip so far. We were once again greeted with flower garlands and a cool drink.

The rooms have gorgeous painted ceilings, and the cleanliness is a high standard. I've told Jane I could just about spend a whole day just staying in my bedroom.

Dinner on the rooftop with a warm breeze was very pleasant. 🌙