jaisalmer desert festival 2005
approaching jaisalmer by road is like viewing a huge sandcastle rise up from the desert,
entering the fort is like entering a labrynth of streets and havelis (old merchants houses), because this town is famous for its camel caravan routes to pakistan, bringing with it jain merchants and bankers of great wealth and power. the border is only 55km away, we cannot travel any farther west in india.
inside the sand-coloured fort of jaisalmer there are intricate ornamented windows and arches, the women in their coloured scarves and skirts, and men with bright turbans and slippers.
besides that there are beautiful temples in the fort and the view out towards the thar desert in unforgettable..
we were there in time for the desert festival, which proved to be a front runner for the best photograph opportunity on our trip (so far).
nuclear missiles were detonated 100km from here, the last one in 1998. didnt really please pakistan.. this is why today there is a fence cutting off each country, in india, 10,000 border security force camels patrol the fences, covering 3 huge indian states in the west of the country.
the force bought their camels to the festival you see, and the weekend was a cultural event/army tatoo.. camel polo, camel racing, camel tatoo, best dressed camel and mr desert during the day, with music and dancing in the evening. the best camel demonstration was a army man in a sari with a water pot on his head, riding a camel.. (wonder what they did out in the desert)..
i bought a beard and moustache set to compete with the men in the moustache twirling competition, making a few new friends along the way. and saw a man riding a motorbike doing a handstand and holding an umbrella across the desert.
the fireworks at the end were interesting, they started off with the huge bang, only realising the fireworks were only 20 metres away, then all of a sudden the local kids started running towards were they were being set off!!
the second night of fireworks, the fire brigade were there.
indian rule #007
indian rule #666
entering the fort is like entering a labrynth of streets and havelis (old merchants houses), because this town is famous for its camel caravan routes to pakistan, bringing with it jain merchants and bankers of great wealth and power. the border is only 55km away, we cannot travel any farther west in india.
inside the sand-coloured fort of jaisalmer there are intricate ornamented windows and arches, the women in their coloured scarves and skirts, and men with bright turbans and slippers.
besides that there are beautiful temples in the fort and the view out towards the thar desert in unforgettable..
we were there in time for the desert festival, which proved to be a front runner for the best photograph opportunity on our trip (so far).
nuclear missiles were detonated 100km from here, the last one in 1998. didnt really please pakistan.. this is why today there is a fence cutting off each country, in india, 10,000 border security force camels patrol the fences, covering 3 huge indian states in the west of the country.
the force bought their camels to the festival you see, and the weekend was a cultural event/army tatoo.. camel polo, camel racing, camel tatoo, best dressed camel and mr desert during the day, with music and dancing in the evening. the best camel demonstration was a army man in a sari with a water pot on his head, riding a camel.. (wonder what they did out in the desert)..
i bought a beard and moustache set to compete with the men in the moustache twirling competition, making a few new friends along the way. and saw a man riding a motorbike doing a handstand and holding an umbrella across the desert.
the fireworks at the end were interesting, they started off with the huge bang, only realising the fireworks were only 20 metres away, then all of a sudden the local kids started running towards were they were being set off!!
the second night of fireworks, the fire brigade were there.
indian rule #007
tell the street vendor how much you pay, not "how much
?". nothing is ever fixed price here, food, lodgings, transport, and
drinks
indian rule #666
jimnever eat at empty indian restaurants, especially
if offering western food
posted by Fi and Jim @ 3:19 pm
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