The Golden City Jaisalmer

What makes India truly special is its incredible diversity. From the seaside to the high Himalayan Mountains the landscape and the people change dramatically, leaving place for an endless number of experiences. But the best of our experiences was the one we had in the Great Thar Desert, the most populous desert in the world.

Trying to choose from different transportation methods that would bring us from Mumbai to Jaisalmer, we decided to fly to the desert, via Jaipur, as the price for the flight felt more convincing than the less expensive, but also extremely long train ride.

We were picked up from the airport and transferred to the reception of the hotel, where we planned to stay for the following 10 days and where we also did our third Workaway project. Read more about it here.

Jaisalmer – a World Heritage Site

The most pleasant thing to notice about “The Golden City” is the respect for traditions and the efforts to preserve the authenticity of the place. As technology and building methods evolved, the local community in Jaisalmer used them to recreate and use easier the same architectural style and motifs inherited from their ancestors, which resulted in extending the inhabited part of the city without creating much contrast between the old and the new.

JAISALMER INDIA

 

Located close to the border with Pakistan, Jaisalmer is the gateway to a series of experiences in the desert. We went there for the beautiful city but, obviously, we also wanted to venture out in the desert.

Home to 78000 people, Jaisalmer has a glorious past and a rich history. The name “Golden City” comes from the golden color of its sandstone walls and of the dunes in the surrounding desert.

JAISALMER INDIA

 

The main attraction is the fort, the most important remembrance of the city’s glorious history, where nowadays people still live and practice different commercial and touristic activities. Around 4000 people live inside the walls. Unfortunately, the fort wasn’t built to sustain the modern life of its inhabitants and the intense use of water, in the absence of a proper drainage system is damaging the construction, putting it at risk of collapsing. Although local people are aware of this danger, mass tourism continues to add to the damage. Therefore we recommend looking for accommodations outside the fort.

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Things to do

The old architecture impresses with its many details and the meticulousness of the workers that built the city. A guided tour could help you understand more of the secrets hidden behind the old walls. Travelers can visit Jain temples, beautiful Havelis and a royal palace, although just losing yourself in the streets of the fortress is already a rewarding experience, which you can end with a traditional meal or a refreshing drink on one of the many terraces in the city, that offer beautiful views of the fort.

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Another option is walking to Gadisar Lake, where visitors can rent a boat or just chill on the lakeside.

JAISALMER INDIA

 

If the fortress and the city are not enough to satisfy the curious explorer inside of you, there is more to discover outside the city. Book a tour that will bring you to the Bada Bagh (8KM from Jaisalmer) where you can admire beautiful cenotaphs and a great landscape overlooking the nearby river.

JAISALMER INDIA

 

Continue your trip to the Amar Sagar Jain Temple (6KM from Jaisalmer) whose design reflects the typical Rajasthan architecture, with an advanced level of details.

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20 Km away from Jaisalmer you can visit the village of Kuldhara. Built around the 13th century, it was completely abandoned by the early 19th century, the village being nowadays shrouded in legend and mystery and many say it is haunted.

JAISALMER INDIA

 

If you are less interested in history and architecture, but on the look for more adventurous things to do, we warmly recommend exploring the desert, by booking one of the many available tours. If you don’t know which one to choose, maybe you will find inspiration in our article about spending a night out in the desert.

Jaisalmer was the highlight of our journey in India, but just one of the places that make the Thar Desert such an interesting destination. As we wanted to explore more of the desert, at the end of our 10 days stay in the city we took the train towards the “Blue City”, Jodhpur.

More impressions about Jaisalmer you will find in our gallery.

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Mumbai – the mega metropolis of India

Home to more than 18 million people, Mumbai is one of the mega cities of the world. Known as the economic capital of India, it offers access to most destinations in the country and a set of particular experiences to travelers that are curious enough to lose themselves in this gigantic island city.

Transportation in Mumbai

Life in Mumbai is obviously busier and more expensive than in other Indian cities. A fun fact about it is the way the bigger part of the local population moves from one side of the city, while traveling mostly to their workplaces, and then back to the other side in the evening. And with such a massive movement of masses shifting daily from one side of the city to the other, of course, there is a need for a well-organized infrastructure. An incredible show to witness is the movements of the crowds during the busy hours at the train station, which can be turned into an ever more intense experience for those who also decide to ride the train. Mumbai’s local rail network is probably the busiest commuter train system in the world, operating over 2.300 train services every single day.

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Speaking of transportation methods, the mobile apps Uber and Ola Cabs work just fine in the city, also metered taxis and tuk-tuks are always around (whenever you want to move fast we always recommend riding a tuk-tuk as it can find its way easier in traffic). Still, avoid rush hours because the time spent in the traffic can get extremely long. Our personal record was 3 hours for a distance of approximately 30 km.

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Things to see

There is less to do and see in Mumbai than in other places, although some landmarks are worth a visit. We would recommend going to the iconic Gateway of India, the historic Victoria railway station (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) or stop on the seaside at Marine Drive for a sunset picture having the skyline as a background.

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For a more insider look into the different lifestyles of the inhabitants of the city, book a tuk-tuk tour that will take you through the slums and other less touristic areas, including a stop at the little and more than overcrowded beaches where locals chill and meet for a snack and a chat.

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During our stay, we could also witness one of the festivals of the place, the Dahi Handi (or Utlotsavam) which resemble a lot the festive events that take place in the northern parts of Spain. Human tours are formed by different teams to collect a high placed trophy (which is usually a pot filled with yogurt or other milk-based products). The event takes place during the Hindu festival Gokulashtami, which celebrates the birth of Krishna.

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What made our trip to Mumbai special were not necessarily the things we did or saw, but more the chance to meet with many of our friends from the time spent at sea. We even planned a longer stay in order to manage to meet with all of them and spend more time in a different way, not while wearing uniforms or while trying to squeeze a bit of entertainment between busy working hours, a fact which characterized the life on board so well.

Traveling feels many times amazing for the places you see and for the chance to experience different things, but it is always made better by meeting good and old friends along the way. And friends in an exotic country like India can help you get more out of your experience and make sure you don’t miss any of the highlights.

Traffic in Mumbai

Another fun fact about Mumbai, but not only Mumbai, is the way people communicate. Obviously, like normal people from all around the world (apart from using the famous head nod), but when in traffic we hardly noticed any angry driver, despite the heavy and apparently chaotic movement of vehicles. Instead, the horn is being continuously and intensely abused to make others aware of the presence of somebody else’s vehicle or to signalize any action taken by the driver…or, probably, its frustration that can easier be expressed that way.

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The last fun fact to mention is that Mumbai is hosting the most expensive house in the world, the 27-story skyscraper named Antilia, owned by the richest man in India. Only one family lives in it with its many servants. For such an expensive building, personally, we didn’t find it very impressive or special in any way.

Six days later in this busy city, we moved towards quieter places (yes, you can find quiet places in India), finally arriving in one of our favorite destinations, Jaisalmer, in the wilderness of the big Thar Desert.

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Goa – India’s favorite beach destination

It was at the end of monsoon time when we arrived in India and most of the west coast was affected by the rain. We’ve been told that Goa looks more beautiful during the monsoon and while the sun isn’t necessarily the first thing we search for when we travel to a beach area, we got very curious about our second stop in the country.

Goa covers a large area and is one of the favorite destinations for holidayers, which makes it also quite an expensive location. So we decided to stay in the northern part where accommodation was cheaper.

 

When going to Goa you can decide between North and South Goa. It is said that during high season, North Goa is more a Party place instead the South is quieter. But as we have been there during the off-season, we had a really quiet time even in the North.  We chose a guesthouse hidden between green fields in Anjuna, where we stayed for 4 nights.

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We didn’t plan anything extraordinary during our stay and just spent lots of time walking around the area, up the green hills and along the beach.

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As one of Miriam’s previous colleagues was from Goa, we spent a day meeting with him and, as a bonus, he offered us a tour around the area, giving us the chance to discover more of what the place had to offer. We finished the tour with a delicious dinner when, among other dishes, we tasted the local fish curry and tried the traditional drink of Goa, the Fenny.

Moving around

When traveling to Goa, it is important to know a few details about transportation methods. There are no mobile apps that can be used like in other parts of India, no cheap tuk-tuks waiting in front of the airport, but only bus transfers organized by the hotels or expensive taxi rides.

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If you are on a tight budget and don’t mind traveling with the most of the time crowded buses, then you should know that the local buses offer very low prices compared to taxis, although you might have to change a few buses depending on what your destination is.

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Just walk outside the airport area and look or ask for the bus stop. We took the local bus on the way back to the airport and changed three buses in total, with a longer stop in Panaji, where we spent a few hours before our flight. The city has a lot of charm and color, due to its many buildings dating back to the colonial era.

GOA INDIA

We were now ready for a new city experience, in one of the biggest and most crowded cities on the planet, Mumbai.

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Bengaluru (Bangalore) – our first stop in India

Before our arrival in India we were warned by many travelers and, mostly, by the local people in Sri Lanka that India is not a pleasant destination to travel to. We’ve been told about the dirt, the garbage and the animals in the streets. But India has always been a country that we wanted to discover, mostly because of our colleagues and friends that we met onboard cruise ships and who always inspired us with stories from their homeland. And how can someone that enjoys to travel and discover things not be curious about the diversity that characterizes India so well?

Our first steps on Indian ground

There are a few aspects that describe the country very well, one of them being the strong contrast. Contrast between the old and the new, the poor and the rich, the modern and the traditional. And this contrast was the first thing we noticed at the arrival on the airport in Bengaluru  (or Bangalore), one of the most beautiful airports we’ve been in. A modern airport bus took us to the city center, driving through nicely arranged parks and on a well-maintained road. But a few minutes later we started being aware of the traffic around us. The modern airport bus got lost in the infinity of tuk-tuks and scooters that started filling the roads. Vendors showed up at almost every street corner, selling street food. There was traffic, there was dust, smell, noise and, in the middle of all, cows passing undisturbed by cars or by the people that seemed so much involved in their busy lives.

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It was India as we imagined it and it was beautiful. Some people might describe the experience as a cultural shock, other as a fascinating spectacle. But one thing is sure and true about what it is being told about India, it is unique in so many ways.

Bengaluru wasn’t a must-see destination on the route that we planned for India, but the connecting point for the flight to Kochi. Due to the intense rain prior to our arrival and the floods that caused heavy damage to the localities on the coast of the Kerala region, the second leg of our flight got canceled, so we decided to still fly into the country but spend a bit of time in a safer area.

Bengaluru was probably the better place to start in. The city is well balanced in terms of costs and access to facilities. It is actually one of the modern cities of India and one of the most important in the south part of the country.

Moving around in Bengaluru

For transportation, we relied more on walking as we booked our accommodation in the central area and when we wanted to cover longer distances we mainly used metered tuk-tuks. Other times, like the time when we returned to the airport, we booked our transfer via Ola Cabs, a mobile app that makes it easy to understand prices and to find convenient transportation options. Uber, the sometimes more expensive alternative to Ola Cabs, also works just fine in the city.

BENGALURU BANGALORE INDIA

Food in Bengaluru

The best thing to experience in India is probably the food and, with such a variety of delicious dishes, we must say it is one of our favorite food destinations. But, if Indian food is not your thing, don’t worry. Western food is largely available and good coffee shops as well. Prices vary according to the kind of experience every traveler looks for. Restaurants serving local food are widely spread along almost every road, offering good and affordable food. Street food is also available in a diversity of choices, as well as fresh snacks and fruits served directly on the street.

INDIAN FOOD DOSA

 

For a more “western” experience, there are streets filled with shops of modern brands, nicely designed coffee places and shopping malls. For a more traditional taste, we recommend visiting local markets and get lost in the crowds.

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Apart from the authenticity offered by the spectacle of the streets, there are a few touristic attractions that travelers in the city can see. We visited the governmental building Vidhana Soudha, some of the local markets and parks and spent most of our time enjoying the good food and delicious Masala Tea.

BENGALURU BANGALORE INDIA

We spent a full week in Bangalore and after being trapped for so many days in the chaos of a big city, we took our next flight to a more peaceful and greener place, Goa.

For more pictures about Bangalore click here.

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