Jaiselmer is a small city in the Thar Desert which is renowned for camel safaris. It is also worth coming here for the beautiful mansions called havelis, native style of dress, and fortess built on a small plateau overlooking the desert. There is a magic about the place, at least when you can avoid the touts.
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Favourite spots: |
On the back of a camel riding through the desert was a great experence. The dry barren land around the city is surprisingly well populated by people and the sky by military aircraft and eagles. I paid for the delux safari which meant I got a bag of apples, oranges, and oranges to supplement the vegetable chappatis served by the drovers.
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What's really great: |
I took a tour around the havelis. My guide was a small kid who spoke a surprising number of European languages. A fellow traveller on the tour kept changing our nationality and switching languages. The confused kid was able to guide us in Italian, French, Spanish, German, and English. This is not a picture of the kid, he was a little older.
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Sights: |
Going up into the old city within the fortess is like stepping back in time with narrow alleyways, water running along streets in stone ditches, and no motorized traffic. This picture is of a temple in the desert near Jaiselmer.
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Accommodations: |
I stayed in two places here because the first place, where I signed up for a camel safari, moved me to a cheaper room (w/o bath) and was planning to charge me with bath price. When I left, the propietor followed me down the street shouting that I would not find a better price and that all rooms were booked in town. Of course, I had no problem finding another place.
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Restaurants: |
Rooftop restuarants seem to be an attraction. They have nice views up at the fortress and down into the colorful life on the streets. This picture was taken at a restuarant.
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Published on Tuesday August 26th, 2003
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Thu, Sep 25 2003 - 11:06 PM
by marianne
I liked the story about your young polyglot guide. Where else did you go in India? |
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Argentina |
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Australia |
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Bolivia |
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Canada |
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Chile |
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Costa Rica |
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Ecuador |
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Egypt |
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India |
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Indonesia |
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