Travel Diaries #Jaisalmer #Post2

....continued from the last post

Day 6: A walk around Jaisalmer and Dr. Bhang!

Sunrise in the desert

I woke up early and set alone in the dunes to witness the sunrise, the desert breeze caressing my face. The solitude of the place bought in tranquility. I sat, meditated, talked to myself and witnessed how the sun slowly broke its sleep and woke up :) The most gripping event of the trip. Just sitting on the fine sand and seeing nothing but huge dunes of sand everywhere can make you smile. If you get a chance, do experience this. I was remembering Frost “…and I have miles to go before I sleep, I have miles to go before I sleep.” I promised myself I would come again next year :)

Soon everyone was awake. I came back, had breakfast and then we were ready to take the ride back. Matt drove the camel like a horse for a while. It was a sight to see camel run! The desert trip was exotic and enthralling. It rejuvenated my tired soul and replenished my inner peace. Soon we were back in the Hotel. The first thing I did was to have bath (it was all sandy!) and then meditate.

We planned to visit the Jaisalmer Fort this day. The Dwyers had a good sleep in the desert but once back in Hotel and on my comfy bed, my tired body chose sleep over travel. I told Dwyers I would meet in 30 minutes but dozed off for about 2 hours! The good dwyers waited. (Thank you! :) Addi wanted to relax so chose not to come. Since Matt had already seen the place, he was our guide. We destined towards the Jaisalmer Fort, the living fort. On our way, we saw shops offering beaded jewelry, brightly colored bangles, dupattas, bags and other handiworks. What caught my eyes were these stuffs with funny lines. I couldn’t help smiling :D

No Need for Viagra Magic Bed Sheet  :D
Bed Sheet Size One Wife Ok  :D
Make your Palm tree Higher Magic Bed Sheet :D

The massive expanse of the fort has shops crammed in a line on the streets where of course one can get beautiful souvenirs and handicrafts from the real Jaisalmer. Matt had got few photos developed which he clicked in his last visit. Some he gave on this day, to the ones who were easily traceable like the 2 shop ladies. I loved the sweet surprise on their faces when they saw the photos, “Arey! Meri photo hai? Aur hai kya?” And must say, Matt had clicked them really well.

Generations after generations have been living in the fort and the architecture of the fort is marvelous. We went around the fort to admire the magnificence and some window shopping. And then we wandered around the streets and narrow lanes to find this place for dinner The Trio. Addi joined us here. The place was really good. Awesome food (lip smacking!), a bit expensive but totally worth. And the ambience was nice too, overlooking the palace which looked brilliant at night with all the lightings.

The Trio

Dr. Bhaang

While on our way back, we paid a visit to Doctor Bhang. Everyone knows where to find his ‘clinic.’ For a different kind of a high. Prepared from the leaves and buds of the female cannabis plant, the Government in Rajasthan has made the sale of Bhaang legal. In fact, it is a source of revenue from those who successfully bid for the vending rights. You can have bhang in many forms at his shop: in chocolates, cookies, sweets, buttermilk and juices. And it is quite a popular joint with the hippies. We came back and  I went up to sleep soon to be fresh and up early next day. 

Day 7: The match making around Jaisalmer!

Matt wanted to search for the people in his clicked photos and hand over the pics to them. A nice idea. Yeah. Only hitch? He didn't know exactly where to find many of them! So we starting searching for them in the small city. Matt had a fair idea where he had clicked them but didn't remember the exact locations. I enjoyed the process of showing the pic, asking people “Tumne dekha hai inhe?” ( Have you seen him?” Some guiding correctly, some misguiding. The joyful us when we used to find the right person and the disappointments when we couldn't find some.  The most funny incident was when we found the uncle in the turban and moustache and gave the photo to him. Few seconds later, we realized he wasn't the one! All looked similar in turban and moustaches. Lol The entire search took a few hours. And we were done with all those we could find. Hah! Reminded me of Kumbh Mela.

We wanted to have lunch at Saffron. Went there and they said that breads were not available since they don’t use Tandoor from 3 pm – 7 pm #strange. So we again chose Trio for a sumptuous treat. We had a train around 1 am and had few more hours to spend. So we chose to walk around and explore few more things.

Patwon Ki Haveli

Gadisagar Lake

The Patwon ki Haveli is considered to be one of the most important Havelis of Jaisalmer because of two important things: it was the first Haveli to be ever built in Jaisalmer and it is a cluster of 5 different havelis making it one of the biggest Havelis.  The ticket price for the foreigners was quite high so we chose not to see them but walked past them.

Our next stop was the Gadisar lake. This lake acted as a reservoir for the entire city at one point. Matt said that last year when he had come, the water level was quite high a few feet. The structure in the center was admirable. We thought of sitting there for a while but the insects didn't let us and we chose to escape soon.

We came back to the Hotel by 7 pm or so and went straight up the café. I can’t be awake till late till I have something to do. Luckily, the hotel guys arranged for a movie screening for us and gave a few options. I chose Dhoom 3 since I hadn’t seen it. It was wonderful to just  lazily lie and watch Dhoom 3 with a theatre like feel and let the hot food be served to you. Soon it was time for us to leave and Ekkay was kind enough to drop us till the station, though it wasn't the call of his duty.

Mystic Rooftop Cafe

We boarded the train. It was almost 18 hour journey and we did not know that Ranikhet Express does not serve food. Thankfully, we had got in some snacks to manage the ordeal. I loved Jaisalmer in all sense. It is a great place to simply roam about, relax and take life easy. There is nothing much to do and for hyperactive and aggressive people like me, it is heaven. I wish to go there this year too.

And this way the dream trip came to an end. When you spend so much time together, you either end up making the bond stronger or swearing not to go with the person again ;) Thankfully with the Dwyers it was the first case, both for them and me. Let's see when the next trip with them takes place.

But thanks to the divinity and the universal power which made it happen. I am extremely grateful for it. :)

Keep Smiling :)

Swati

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