Jaisalmer - Where Road Meets Desert
When I was in class 4th, I had no bicycle. But, every day I used to take a rented bicycle with my 2 rupees pocket money and roam around my neighborhood. It was a wondrous experience at that age. It allowed me to move in a glib and confident way while at the same time giving me this sense of Freedom. I still have that feeling today when I ride a bike. Completely free from everything and so alive unlike in any other moment of my life.
Originally the trip was planned to Puri, Odisha. A day before the trip, I got a call from Akshay saying that “We are not going on an Odisha trip!”.
“Why? What happened again?”, my usual reply.
And, He said, “We are going to JAISALMER”!
Habitually, we began our 2 week Rajasthan trip without any plan. This wasn't a trouble-free plan like any other bike trips, because we had to ride almost “2,200 KMs” from Bengaluru with no pre-bookings at all. I know people think we are crazy, but we'd like to keep some suspense and mystery along the way.
It took us 4 days to reach our destination via crossing through the western ghats, Mumbai's traffic, farmers' protest, wrong turns, lost twice, foggy weather(4°C, zero visibility), the bike broke down, just missed accidents, and the Sahara desert. These things are bound to happen on any bike trip and we were not new to it. When we finally entered the lands of Jaisalmer, the sand changed its color, the sky was serene and the road was in the middle of the desert. Hang on, the first question in my mind was “Is it India?”. There’s no way that it's so endlessly flat and golden in one frame, it still feels like a dream. And, I can bet you that those roads of Jaisalmer were every biker’s ambition for sure.
Jaisalmer is called “The Golden City” of India, not only for its golden sand dunes but also for the constructions with golden sandstone. You can see the golden sandstone literally everywhere. We actually booked a hotel that is also made of sandstone and honestly, it feels like living in a Royal Palace. First, we started with the local sightseeing around Sonar Quila which is basically the center of the city. It stocks an arrangement of shops, stalls, and bazaars. It has got everything from customary garments, colorful handicrafts to locally-made leather and carpets. Plus there were also many shops where we found old-school things like wooden stuff, puppets, paintings and much more. We bought ourselves some multicolored Rajasthani Turbans and a leather cowboy hat for our old-fashioned photoshoots.
Our day 2 began with only one purpose, that is “Exploring the Golden Fort of India”. So it was about time to revisit history. Before starting any mission, our motto is simple “Start A Day With A Tea”. While we were having tea near the fort, the Chaiwala told us the very sad news of the day that Brij Raj Singh(Current king of Jaisalmer) is no more. Yes, the Royal families of the Bhati Yadav clan still live in Jaisalmer. Supporting education and economic development in the region. We thought the fort would be closed. But, luckily it wasn’t, only a few shops were closed and everything else was open.
The Jaisalmer Fort, which rises above the town to the west, was built in 1156 and is India’s only ‘living’ fort. Nearly 10-15% of the old city's population still resides within the fort which is mostly descendants of Rajput families who once lived here. It’s fascinating and so different from normal. Because, there was the buzz of a lively market, children playing cricket, sounds of temple bells, a hive of activity, narrow winding lanes, lined with houses and whatnot. For a moment I totally forgot that I am in the middle of a fort. We visited a few Hindu and Jain temples, rode the bike in the fort, saw so many cannons, talked with the fort people, and altogether this place is worth its weight in gold.
It won’t be wrong if we call Jaisalmer also a city of Rooftop Restaurants, literally it's all over the map. I remembered that the hotel we were staying in was also having a rooftop restaurant which made our dinner spot. We went there after gloaming, it was startlingly cold and windy with golden hues of the fort. We spent a couple of hours there gazing at the view of the lit-up fort because our order was delayed 2 hours. Never mind, it's a whole other experience in itself!
What can we say? Our trip to Jaisalmer was one of the most pleasant experiences we’ve encountered.