Jaisalmer highlights

Jaisalmer is bigger than Udaipur and it’s hard to say which I preferred as they are quite different and each has something unique. In the case of Jaisalmer it is lovely carved sandstone buildings &structures especially havelis in the  old town, built by a rich merchant for himself  and each of his five sons. The fort itself of course is an imposing sight virtually rising out of the dunes. Overlooking it at sunset until it lit up as did the little houses surrounding it was lovely. There were the expected gypsies dancing, singing, posing for photos and trying to sell things but not too many of them and at least they were doing something for whatever money they ended up with. There were boys flying kites from the flat rooftops and they flew hundreds of metres high. Most of the things we did were somehow related to the fort. It is a whole busy township of its own with residences, shops, cafes etc. Pretty commercial but why wouldn’t they cash in? Problem is the fort is sinking about 1cm a year and all the activity doesn’t help so we were discouraged from buying up there in the hope of making the little businesses unviable and therefore reduce the pressure. Bit of a double edged sword. Our tour has a focus on textiles, jewellery, embroidery, weaving and traditional handcrafts in general. We have watched demonstrations of tie dying gorgeous scarves (quite unlike the old hippie garments), visited women in their bare homes in untidy back lanes doing fine and meticulous embroidery on leather, silversmiths (yes I succumbed) and  traditional Rajasthani patchwork artefacts on which the stitching was so fine it looked like paint. We went to the dunes about 50ks out of town and there were camels to ride but most of us opted for a “fancy” camel drawn cart. Listened to music and dancing while waiting for sunset. Then to a traditional show and dinner. Yes it was mostly for tourists but most of them were Indian tourists who were right into audience participation, knowing all the songs and dance moves, traditional and modern, oldies and littlies. The main act was Rajasthan’s own queen of the desert...Queen Harish. She was a drag act but only in so far as she did female dances and wore saris and all the trimmings. Hard to explain so if interested you could see her on you tube. We were lucky she was there as she performs in London, New York etc. Every day brings unexpected happenings in India!