Deep in the Thar Desert in the far west of Rajasthan is a golden city. A fairy tale fort sits on a ridge overlooking the town, still home to many families whose houses cluster within its sheltering walls. I loved Jaisalmer's remoteness, its border-town mentality, and the beauty of its golden architecture. And I enjoyed the personal stories of life (and death) as told by our Brahmin guide Gaurav.
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Nothing makes you feel more welcome in a country than to be invited into someone's home, however humble. And language is no barrier to connecting with a friendly hostess and her curious children.
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One of the pleasures of a stay by the sea is an early morning walk on the beach. The waves lapping the shore, the sound of sea birds, a gentle breeze … a tranquil spot in which to recharge the batteries. But what most of us regard as a welcome break from our day to day lives is for others a place of work, and hard work at that.
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What makes a place to stay special? Is it the location? The people? The building itself? Maybe in the best places it is all of these things, plus a small helping of ‘je ne sais quoi’.
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There is something about a tale of an abandoned city that tugs at the imagination, and this one is no different. Here among the remnants of an emperor’s glory you can still discover riches, and the sense of a world that existed only briefly and is long gone.
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‘The Palace of Bundi, even in broad daylight, is such a palace as men built for themselves in uneasy dreams, the work of goblins rather than of men.’ So said Rudyard Kipling of Bundi Palace. Also known as Garh Palace, it was home to the rulers of Bundi for centuries.
