Jaisalmer has the best memories for all of us I think. This was due in no small part to the fact that it is a relatively remote town of 65,000 people, compared to the much larger cities of Jaipur (2 M) and Jodhpur (0.8 M). Actually, one of the things that struck us the most about Jaisalmer was that it was really set up for tourists to shop. I know that sounds bad, but we were surprised that Jodhpur didn't really seem to have an area where there were lots of shops for people like us to buy things - you might have expected otherwise, given that it is in one of the the most touristed parts of the country.

Anyway, arriving at Jaisalmer (which is a fort town in the middle of the desert, not far from the Pakistani border), we checked into our hotel (at 6 am - people were great about letting you check in at such early times - and even sleep in your room without paying for an extra day etc), caught a bit of extra sleep (train from Jodhpur was only ~ 6 h) and then ventured out. We had 3 days here - the most anywhere - so we got to know the place better i think. I was getting a bit homesick/labsick by this stage (I have a tendency for this to happen when i am away for more than ~10 days) as well, and actually organized to leave ~1.5 days earlier - from the sound of what Ann and Fionna got up to after i left them, i shouldn't have!

Anyway, we had a great time mooching around the Jain temples and other sights of Jaisalmer, as well as partaking in a bit of shopping. Then we had our night in the desert. This was great fun. It was an organized thing - they took us to a small circle of huts about 40 km out of town - which meant we were right in the desert - and we had the obligatory sunset camel ride (amusing).

Then we had an evening of traditional Rajasthani folk dancing. This was probably the highlight of the entire trip for me! There was a group of performers who played and danced for a while, and then got people up to join in. The male dancer picked me (i suspect being the only blond, non-Indian person in an audience of 40 or so may have had something to do with it) and he showed me some moves and tried to get me to try them too. Fortunately, they were just like the 80's moves that one uses in Retro nightclubs, so I was in my element! We "duelled" furiously for what seemed like ages, until the sweat was pouring off me (how unusual!). Afterwards, I was roundly congratulated by other people in the audience, and I reckon I earned a bit of Rajasthani street cred...

Slept out under the stars that evening, which was great - full moon and lots of stars - to cap off a great time in Jaisalmer. On to Jaipur...