Jaisalmer Beyond The Fort

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Veranda of Maharaja Kishansing Bhali            

Off the veranda at the  Nachana Haveli Hotel are the Maharaja's private quarters,  we were invited inside, just one room, but what a room. It must be 40' long and double vaulted like the veranda.  The decor could most charitably be described as eclectic.  I liked this hotel very much and would stay here.  From 'Saffron' the hotels rooftop restaurant we could look down on the square and admire the exposed transformer which served as a centerpiece.  Makes a change from fountains which are in short supply in Jaisalmer where water comes along a canal from the Punjab rather than falling from the skies


 

Haveli's                         

Patwon-Ki-Haveli

Nathmal-Ki-Haveli

Patwon-Ki-Haveli the first and the grandest of the two we visited, sits in a narrow lane.  Built by the wealthy brocade merchant Guman Chand Patwa and his five sons over a period of 60 years. 

Nathmal-Ki-Haveli
built for the prime minister by two brothers, each being responsible for one half, when they met in the middle they discovered the two sides were not mirror images - oops

                                                      Interior Patwon-Ki-Haveli

        The five interlinked haveli have exquisite murals                          

 


Kitchen Patwon-Ki-Havel                                            


Girls in school


The peacock feather salesman of Jaisalmer               


Dashing away with a smoothing iron

Our camel safari was to have been one of the highlights of the trip for me but proved to be the major disappointment.   Fanny decided to go along at the last minute and we booked through our hotel.  I had the option to camp overnight in the desert or return with Fanny after dinner.  We were driven to a village to await our camels

We waited for hours in the very pleasant village and eventually had to be driven out to the dunes to meet the camelteers

To add insult to injury Fanny and I were then taken along the edge of the dunes whilst the others went out into the desert.  By the time I realised what was going on and insisted on going on to the dunes  it was to late for photography and I was bitterly disappointed

Below, my only photo on the dunes before the setting sun quickly disappeared, the moon stayed stubbornly behind the clouds


Dinner, cooked under the elusive full moon by our camelteers was bland and uninviting.  I did not camp out but returned with Fanny to the hotel.  We asked for a partial refund but Dev insisted on refunding our trip in full, to make us 'happy' but of course I wasn't happy and didn't have time to try again another day

We spent our last evening under the moon on the roof top terrace chatting with Dev

   

For the princely sum of $7 we took the overnight sleeper bus from Jaisalmer via Jodphur to UdaipurAs I incarcerated myself in my sleeping berth it occurred to me   that if there was an accident they wouldn't have to bother finding coffins for us.   Meanwhile Fanny was already dreaming of being a purdahed Maharani carried through the streets in a palanquin.  I think that makes her an optimist.

 

Comfort break on the road to Udaipur

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