Day 2
Spent the forenoon visiting the royal palace known as Mandir
Palace and Tazia Tower. Also saw the
beautiful man-made Gadsisar Lake - encircled
with beautiful archways, cupolas and kiosks, it has been a
watering hole for dog-years in the Thar Desert.
 Tucked
away in the narrow alleys, Jaisalmer's houses have some real
hilarious wall paintings. The tradition is that prior to a Hindu
wedding, the front wall of the bride's house was painted with an
image of Lord Ganesh. Today's painters have gone beyond their
brief and added their wry humour to it as you can see from this
sampling on the right. Do click to enlarge it.
After lunch, we took a look at the Vyas Chhatris
and Bada Bagh cenotaphs. The desert had begun to
get to us and we decided to get adventurous by taking a Camel
Safari.
 On
camel-backs, we left for Samm (pronounced Sum)
sand dunes some 40 kms (26 miles) away visiting the
villages enroute. Spent an enchanting evening on the sands
watching the sensuous snake dance of the Kalbeliya
gypsies and listening to the full throated folks songs of the
Manganiyars. Sleeping in tents under the desert
starscape was another of our unforgettable experiences of
Rajasthan.
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