Golden Fort, Golden Sunset and One Very Well-Wrapped Bedspread

Up to the Golden City

Our day in Jaisalmer began with yoga on the hotel rooftop, and a very pleasant breakfast, with the best service we have had here in India,  then it was a  bus up to the fort. 

Jaisalmer is called the Golden City, and you can see why. The fort is built from yellow sandstone that glows honey-gold at sunset, and it's one of the world's largest fully preserved forts. It's also a "living fort", with about 4,000 people still living inside the walls. We were told residents can even own the land in there. It was founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🏰

Hawkers and a Bedspread

We walked up through hawkers and hundreds of would-be guides. According to Jane, It is a very  quiet tourist season so competition is high however I believe the vendors co I ld be n efit greatly from reading some sales techniques, especially about too many choices. I wanted a bedspread like the one in our hotel room, but with no price tags and high opening prices, shopping here is difficult when you just want to look. I walked away from one shop (in photo below) then got waylaid down an alleyway into another, where I found a lovely silk bedspread in turquoise tones, recycled from saris. They started bargaining at around NZ$280. I wanted to pay ₹5,000 (about NZ$100) and we settled at ₹6,000 (about NZ$120). It's wrapped so tightly that I won't see it again until I'm home, which will be a lovely surprise.

Why We're Here

After a rest at the hotel, we headed back up at 4:30. This is probably the moment to explain why we're all here. These tours began with Rachel and Bhooi. Rachel was Bhooi's wife and Jane's best friend. Rachel died accidentally in 2013 and Jane and Bhooi have kept running these tours in Rachel's memory, and to raise money for her children's education in New Zealand. The itinerary is built around Rachel's favourite places, and she loved this fort. She loved watching the sun go down over the desert from a terrace with pizza in hand.

Sunset, Pizza and Bats

So that's what we did. The toppings were just like back home, and the bases were bready but very light and absolutely yummy. We'd seen lots of bats roosting in the fort, and as we sat down to dinner there was a changing of the guard: the pigeons went to sleep and the bats came out, so we watched them coming and going against the sunset. It was a glorious evening. 🌅 🦇

Back to the hotel, then up for yoga in the morning.