08: Day 3: Jaisalmer local travel

The word “Jaisalmer" is broken down as Jaisal-mer. It literally means the Hill Fort of Jaisal. Because the yellow sandstone and the yellow sand used in almost all architecture of the city, it is also called as “The Golden City”.

It was 26th December, the 3rd day of our Rajasthan road trip. The first two days were spent in travelling from Pune to Jaisalmer via Ahmedabad. After a good night's sleep on the 25th, we slept till about 8 am and had breakfast at around 8:30 am. Although most folks had a heavy dinner the night earlier, it was winter and folks were hungry for breakfast. We had quite a few options including Aloo Paratha, Upma, boiled eggs and bread. We were ready to leave by 10:00 am in the morning.

Our plan for the day was to visit local places around Jaisalmer city. Specifically which ones was still being determined. The list of nearby places included Jaisalmer fort, Salim Singh ki Haveli, Patwon ki Haveli, Gadisar lake, Bada Bagh and Kuldhara village. We decided to start with the Jaisalmer fort as it was the closest and one of the top attractions in the city.

Jaisalmer fort

The fort of Jaisalmer is a breathtaking sight: a massive sandcastle rising from the sandy plains like a mirage from a bygone era. Jaisalmer’s unique fort is a living urban centre, with about 3000 people residing within its walls. It’s honeycombed with narrow, winding lanes, lined with houses and temples – along with a large number of handicraft shops, guesthouses and restaurants. You enter the fort from the east, near Gopa Chowk, and pass through four massive gates on the zigzagging route to the upper part. The final gate opens into the square that forms the fort’s centre, Dashera Chowk.

- Lonely Planet 

We decided to take the services of a guide to show us the fort. Built in the 12^th century by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, the Jaisalmer Fort is a massive yellow sandstone fortification that houses the Raj Mahal (royal palace) and several havelis, gateways and temples. It appears brownish yellow during the day and turns into honey-gold at sunset, justifying the name “Sonar Quila” (Golden Fort). It is an architectural marvel having intricately carved windows, doors and walls, making it one of the fine examples of the rich heritage in India. Located on the Trikuta Hill, it overlooks Jaisalmer city. The canon point, located at a vantage point within the fort, gives one an amazing panoramic view of Jaisalmer city.

Jaisalmer Fort: Views of structure, panoramic view of city from cannon point

We had spent a little over 2 hours at the Jaisalmer fort. It was past noon and had started getting hot. We decided to skip Salim Singh ki Haveli which was right next to the fort, and preferred to go to Patwon ki Haveli instead. Driving to Patwon ki Haveli through the narrow, congested lanes of Jaisalmer in my XUV 5OO was pretty tough. By the time we reached the parking lot of Patwon ki Haveli, the kids Ruhi and Trisha said they were too tired and were in no mood to visit any other place. They wanted to stay put in the car itself, understandably so. Not being a "sight-seeing" fan myself, I immediately vouched to stay in the car along with the girls. Anant, Mukul, Gauri, Rama and Pallavi went ahead to visit Patwon ki Haveli.

The ladies Gauri, Rama and Pallavi decked up in local Rajasthani attire at the Patwon ki Haveli and had a good time taking photos inside. A few foreigners (and local tourists) also wanted to take pictures along with them. Anant and Mukul skipped dressing up in Rajasthani male attire as I was missing and they wanted to do this together. I wish Anant and Mukul had gone ahead as we didn't get another real chance during the rest of the trip.

Patwon ki Haveli: Rama, Gauri and Pallavi in Rajasthani attire

It was past 2:00 pm and the girls were getting hungry. We were carrying enough stock of the Indian spicy puris (tikhat mithachi puri) and the Pumpkin Sweet puris (ghaarga) which I shared along with Ruhi and Trisha. The girls were busy playing games by themselves, in the comfort of the air conditioned car. I did not want to end up spending whatever time we had in Jaisalmer city doing what can be classified as "sight-seeing". I am not the run-of-the-mill tourist and I like to visit off-beat places. The place need not necessarily have some great history associated with it, but the experience should be such that the visit should be etched in one's memory.

Upon searching for such off-beat places on Google, I figured out that one could visit the India - Pakistan international border in Jaisalmer. I found references to the India - Pakistan Border Pillar 609 (BP 609 in short) being open for civilians so long as they sought permission from the BSF (Border Security Force) in Jaisalmer. The only day we had in hand was Tuesday the 27th of December i.e. the next day. Too late to seek permission, but I decided to take a chance nevertheless. A school friend of mine happened to be a Major in the Indian Army and I knew he was posted in Rajasthan at the moment. I casually dialled his number to check if he could help and he said he would get back to me if he managed to contact the BSF. It was too short a notice for him but he graciously offered to try and I thanked him for that.

Folks were back from visiting Patwon ki Haveli by 3 pm. Everyone was very hungry and the girls had luckily held up until then. We chose to go to a nearby restaurant named Sky Plaza for lunch, and then retreated to the hotel to take some rest. Even though it was winter, days in Rajasthan are always hot because it's an arid desert landscape. It was time for a quick nap, at least for the kids.

After the kids took a nap and we all rested, the plan for the evening was to visit the Gadisar Lake which was a 5 minute drive from our hotel. The Gadisar lake, built as a water conservation tank in the 14th century, encircles several temples. The most notable being the Krishna Temple that is located on top of the Tilon Gate. It was past sunset and the lake area was decked up in lights. We first did boating at the Gadisar Lake. There were rowing and paddling options for boating, but since we all wanted to be together, we chose the row boat. During the winter season, migratory birds flock the lake region. We saw a few ducks and geese in the lake.

Gadisar Lake

After boating, we roamed around the lake area which was a typical tourist spot. We found that getting photographs decked up in Rajasthani dresses was a standard offering at all tourist locations. This time around it was the kids Ruhi and Trisha who dressed up in Rajasthani attire, and they looked really sweet in the dress complete with all the accessories. Doesn't take more than 10 minutes or so to deck up. On the spot photo prints provide for instant gratification, apart from the "photo shoot" session thanks to smartphone cameras, digital cameras and the likes.

Trisha (in red-yellow) and Ruhi (in pink-blue) decked up in Rajasthani attire

Meanwhile, we were awaiting formal confirmation about the visit to the India - Pakistan international border from my friend, who had earlier signalled that the visit would be definitely possible but I would have to wait for the confirmation. Anant's school friend is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army as well, and Anant had contacted him. He was on vacation and reaching the concerned folks was going to be difficult for him at such a short notice.

As we had to depart from Jaisalmer city the next day afternoon for our Desert Safari camp, I had suggested we leave early morning at 4:00 am to drive till the Tanot border post, wrap up the border visit and get back to the hotel by noon. With that plan in mind, Ruhi and I went off to sleep by 9:30 pm. Anant and Rama were game for this plan while Mukul and family didn't seem to keen for the early morning visit. Anant, Gauri, Mukul and Pallavi decided to go for a walk. Ruhi and I had already retired to bed. Trisha was tired too, and Rama wasn't interested in going for a walk either, hence she vouched to look after Trisha. After they came back from the walk, the gang wanted to confirm the plan for the next day for which they tried to wake me up, but I had slept like a log already. That marked the end of our Jaisalmer city tourism day.