Jaisalmer

We made it to India! 🇮🇳

Coming to India played a large part of our second trip's itinerary as this is Mitch's first time here. Although Mitch has been immersed in the Indian culture over the years, seeing it first hand was definitely an experience we couldn't miss. We landed in Ahmedabad and got one day to recover from the busy Egypt, UAE and Oman schedule at my uncle's house where we'll spend some time later, however first we chose to do some sightseeing in the state of Rajasthan with my parents who decided to come to India as well.

Our first stop was Jaisalmer a city close to the boarder of Pakistan known for its desert scenery and its position on the Silk Road. Merchants of the city traded spices, opium, nuts and much more to become very wealthy. One merchant in particular dominated the city's trading business and spent his money to create such detailed homes with hand crafted balconies typical to that region for him and his sons also known as a havelies. These were impressive to see for their beauty and unique architecture.

Jaisalmer is also known for its fort like many other cities in India which were ruled by regional kings. This fort however is different in that it's still inhabited but not by the king! The city has given the fort to the local people to live in and it's occupied by homes, hotels, restaurants and shops. We got to walk around which was fun seeing a glimpse into the daily life of these people.

However all this aside the most fascinating thing we learned about Jaisalmer was that it was only developed with electricity, water and roads in 1965! Although progress has been made since then there is a lot of work to be done in the city to bring it to modern times. Driving through small villages was interesting and eye opening to see how people still live in the year 2017. Many of these village people were definitely fascinated by Mitch as was Mitch of their roaming cows and sheep!Read more