The drive from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur is excellent. We hired a taxi to reach Manvar Desert Camp. Negotiating for a taxi , that too for a one way ride is pretty tricky, you will have to bargain hard for a good deal. Reaching Jodhpur (around 110 kms) from Manvar Desert camp was a real challenge. When we enquired for a taxi, they made an exorbitant demand. So we decided to ditch taxi and thought we will catch the first bus which comes our way! To our luck, as soon as we reached the road, we found a shared taxi going towards Jodhpur and driver was more than happy to drop us till Jodhpur.
Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhavan Palace are worth seeing. The fort being located on a hillock, is almost equivalent to a 12~ 13 storied building and there is also lift facility to reach the top. The blue city in its full glory is best seen from the top of the fort.
This fort is also under the control of a trust run by Maharaja of Jodhpur and showcases enormous Rajput culture within and has been converted in to a museum. The technology used in this perfume bottle (toy) is amazing! To fill the perfume, you have got to open the knob on head, and if you press the bird like thing on the left hand , the perfume sprays out of right hand!!! Truly amazing isn’t it!
The protective gear that was once used by the Majaraja, I wonder how much stamina one used to have then!
The entire roof that is seen is made of gold (around 80 Kg, I was told) , this is a war loot from one of the war over Ahmedabad.
Cannons still in position on the top of the fort.
The Royal State Flag and Emblem
Umaid Bhavan Palace: As the history goes, once there was a severe drought in Jodhpur, then Maharaja thought he would distribute money and food to his citizens, then citizens told, being true Rajaputs in nature they don’t want anything in free as alms, instead asked the King to provide them with some work and then pay them. It was then the king decided to build this truly majestic palace.
It’s said that this doesn’t use mortar or cement to bind the stones together, but stones are bound together by a complex interlocking mechanism. Majority of the hotel is under the control of Taj group, part of it is museum showcasing heritage.
Below one really caught my attention! A Menu of Maharaja’s party from 1936, will I ever have an opportunity to taste old wine, liquor listed there?
Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhavan Palace are worth seeing. The fort being located on a hillock, is almost equivalent to a 12~ 13 storied building and there is also lift facility to reach the top. The blue city in its full glory is best seen from the top of the fort.
This fort is also under the control of a trust run by Maharaja of Jodhpur and showcases enormous Rajput culture within and has been converted in to a museum. The technology used in this perfume bottle (toy) is amazing! To fill the perfume, you have got to open the knob on head, and if you press the bird like thing on the left hand , the perfume sprays out of right hand!!! Truly amazing isn’t it!
The protective gear that was once used by the Majaraja, I wonder how much stamina one used to have then!
The entire roof that is seen is made of gold (around 80 Kg, I was told) , this is a war loot from one of the war over Ahmedabad.
Cannons still in position on the top of the fort.
The Royal State Flag and Emblem
Umaid Bhavan Palace: As the history goes, once there was a severe drought in Jodhpur, then Maharaja thought he would distribute money and food to his citizens, then citizens told, being true Rajaputs in nature they don’t want anything in free as alms, instead asked the King to provide them with some work and then pay them. It was then the king decided to build this truly majestic palace.
It’s said that this doesn’t use mortar or cement to bind the stones together, but stones are bound together by a complex interlocking mechanism. Majority of the hotel is under the control of Taj group, part of it is museum showcasing heritage.
Below one really caught my attention! A Menu of Maharaja’s party from 1936, will I ever have an opportunity to taste old wine, liquor listed there?
Ghadisar Lake was built as a source of water for the Jaisalmer city, the lake is quite large and is a good spot for birding as well. It has a complex of the temples both on the shores and in the center. Boat rides early in the morning and evenings offer a good view of the fort and other monuments around.
Jaisalmer Fort(Sonar Killa). Being strategically located in the Arab trade route, Jaisalmer fort occupies an important place in Indian history. As the guide said, during those days if anyone has reached Jaisalmer on camel it was considered to be a major achievement. 
Can you tell me something more about the bird we spotted?
"कर्म तेरे अच्छे तो किस्मत तेरी दासी" (If your deeds are good enough then the destiny will follow you) reads a saying written on his house. Ever smiling, simple and down to earth Badal Singh welcomes us to his clean and neat dwelling. As we start unwinding on the small platform infront of the house, the clouds have already surrounded the village and gusty wind starts blowing across. As I cover my face to save it from the sand, Badal Singh says "रेगिस्तान आपका स्वागत कर रहा है" (Desert is welcoming you). Well it's quite true that, wherever we go rain god accompanies us, I was quite suprised to see the rains in the desert with the onset of winter. Badalji attributes it to "Global Warming", and we learnt next day that there was indeed quite heavy showers at Jaisalmer.
True to his nature, Badal Singh has kept his home quite simple but well mantained.You will find 3 simple huts and 3 rooms with shared bathroom facilities. As we talk over a cup of tea, Badalji tells us he is expecting some visitors from Europe that evening and that because of rains they may not be able to make it and tells us how a guest few days back booked and after making all arragements they didnt show up! Badalji so calm and peaceful, there was not a shade of anger while was telling this.
As rains started to drizzle, goats came home and Badalji & Napa (Badalji's Son) served water to goats. You can see the ancient wisdom of rain water harvesting is being practiced here. Badalji has build two storage tanks for water in the house which is used for most of household purposes. Badalji tells as there was good monsoon this time around, he has sufficient water stored for rest of the year.
We break for an evening walk or rather trek to nearby sand dunes, Khuri offered us the peace and solitude, ofcourse the tourist activities @ Khuri have picked up with lot of resorts mushrooming around, but if you are prepared spend a bit more of energy there is no derth for solitude places. Being in the desert national park Khuri also offered us sight of lot of Avions as well. 
After watching lovely sunset we are back to Badal house, Badalji tells us he has arranged for the Camel ride the next day, we along with the other guests will depart for camel ride next day. He also tells us, "Seeing your state, and also state of weather sir, I cancelled your camel ride today and arranged it for tomorrow". I nod my head in concurrence, with around 20+ years of experience in this , Badalji must have read my mind!! As the loud music from near by resort cuts through the peace of the village, he tells he is not very happy about this, and how this has become part of his life.
Next day, we are up early, and knowing our interest in birds Badalji directed us to three small lakes on the outskirts of Khuri, these are for different purposes of animal and human needs of the village. And when we were back, Badalji showed us comments of an Ornithogist from Europe about Great Indian Bustard, and asked if we were keen to visit that place around 40~50 kms from Khuri. I had to forego that thought, since the travel arrangements couldn't be made in a jiffy, and good time to spot these are only during morning and evenings.
Afternoon sun rises, and so the heat of the desert, Although it was pleasant inside house, it was a bit harsh outside. Badalji told us why there are no A/C's , TV's at his home. "People come here in search of peace and definitely I don't want to spoil my kids with all the facilities". He cherishes his guestbooks, which he has been maintaining since early days of home stay, I must say, this humble man from the western tip of India is making the country proud by doing his bit of service in a selfless manner.
It gets colder during the night with cool wind breezing around, couldn't get good sleep though. But this was really a blessing in disguise as I woke up sometime in the midnight to see a wonderful and glowing "Moon Light soaked desert", It wasn't a full moon day and I made a decision to visit again on a full moon day and went back to sleep.
Spotted a wild deer on our way...
Bettle (id?) on its way...
