What a ride it was from Longewala border post to Jaisalmer. We reached Jaisalmer before evening. Sun was still in the sky. Jaisalmer Fort and Bada Bagh were on the list but only after we secure a room.

Stories from Rajasthan

Jodhpur – Part 1

Gadisar Lake Jaisalmer – Part 2

Kuldhara abandoned village – Part 3

Sam Sand dunes review – Part 4

Tanot border – Part 5

Longewala border post – Part 6

Hunted for rooms we finally moved inside Maheshwari Seva Sadan near Hanuman circle. Maheshwari Seva Sadan is a Dharamshala run by Maheshwari samaj trust.

Rooms were quite easy on the pocket, around Rs.75 per person. Rooms were okay but the water was yellow and hard. Who cares? Filled up a bucket full of yellow water and har har gange 🙂

Vyas Chhatri or Bada Bagh

Next, we left for Vyas Chhatri. Vyas Chhatri also known as Bada Bagh is at a distance from Jaisalmer city, maybe 5-6 km.

Sunset looks splendid from here. Tourists flock here during Sunset. People love sitting under the canopy and watch the Sun go down the horizon.

Locked up inside the Vyas Chhatri 🙂

Sun was down, the tourists had deserted the place and two emotional souls were locked inside the campus. When no one came to open the gates, we jumped over the wall on the right side and found ourselves in a premium haveli. Lucky were we to stumble a Folk program going on inside the haveli and luckier even, as it was free 🙂

Blessed our luck for everything we were praised upon. Took our bike parked outside the Vyas Chhatri and called off for the day.

Visit to Jaisalmer Fort

Woke up with Sun and rushed to Jaisalmer Fort. Spotted a Poha stall in front of the Fort gate. Do try a plate there, it was nice.

Jaisalmer Fort has massive entrance gates, around 4 in number. The Fort is a city in itself.

It has everything that you need. Rooms, temples, shops, etc. Satyajit Ray has rightly called it Sonar Killa. The Fort glitters with golden colour stone.

Paid the entry fees at the entrance of the Jaisalmer Fort. It was Rs. 30 for Indian nationals and Rs. 70 for foreigners.

For attractions inside the Fort, you can browse through this Jaisalmer Fort everything for a tourist site. Let’s talk something different.

I met two interesting people inside the Fort. One was our guide.

The tale of Mr Bokudu Natwarlal

He caught us at the entrance. We agreed for Rs. 100. He was funny. And though our guide, he knew nothing about the Fort 🙂 He talked too much but didn’t speak about the Fort, not even of 1 rupee 😀

When we were inside the Jain temple. He stood next to a government guide listening all that the person spoke. Then came back to us and tried to repeat the things. We corrected the facts he heard from the guide 🙂 He didn’t know we heard the guide from another side too.

Light of the East – Jaisalmer Fort

The second interesting person was K.K. Parekh. He is the owner of the antique shop Light of the East. His shop is on the way to Jain Temple inside the Fort. He had some rare collection of fossils and rocks. Shri Parekh is kind enough to show his collection very generously. The best I liked was a rubber stone and mosquito fossil as in Jurrasic park movie.

Rubber stone was a piece of rock as hard as any other stone but behaved like rubber when pressed from the ends. Interesting it was. Then he narrated how he came from Kolkata following Satyajit Ray and inspired from Sonar Killa movie. Do pay him a visit and you will be surprised.

We spent around 3 hours inside the Fort and then left for Joshi German Bakery near Gopa Chowk.

This is how our bike trip ended in Jaisalmer. It was amazing to be in the Thar desert for 3 days wandering on the motorcycle. No doubt the place is dry and rough but it has something hidden deep inside which calls us again and again. I am getting impatient to get back to the rugged desert on a motorcycle and probably for a longer duration.

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Read the next post – Jaipur in a day: Hawa Mahal see the unseen

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