Travelling to Jaisalmer the most westerly destination on this tour at approx 120km from the Pakistan Border, was interestng to say the least. We travelled by train which I have to say was in much better condition than I expected (despite the resident mouse in our carriage).

We are very much objects of interest here in India. It first started in the station where we were surrounded by 3 deep of men (yes men, rarely women!) who relentlessly stared at us even when we challenged their gaze. It got even more uncomfortable when we were actually on the train, well technically off the train! India operates on IST or India stretchable time, so a train journey scheduled to take 9 hours will take - well who knows!! On the morning of the second day the train came to an abrupt stop, in the middle of nowhere, and stayed there for nearly 2 hours. As much of the train had disembarked and taken up position either on the roof or at the side of the tracks we decided to follow suit - bad move! Creating an invisible magnetic field men started to gravitate towards us until we were completely surrounded both on the ground and in the air by silent staring eyes. Too much to bear we retreated back to the safety of our carriage.

Jaisalmer is known as the golden city as it is a fortified sandstone city which rises out of the Thar Desert. As we wound up through the narrow streets of the old town in our jeep, I was totally blown away by the place it is so beautiful. Our hotel is located in one of the fort walls and has so much character and brilliant views!!! I am coming to recognise that rooftop terraces are very important here in India for both the views and the breeze they get, as it is so so hot!

As India is sufferng a drought at the moment they are trying to conserve water by switching off the electricity for about 4 - 6 hours each morning. Clearly it is best to be out of your stuffy room during this period, especially if you have a bathroom with no windows, as this can prove to be fairly tricky, as we discovered!

On the first night we had a bit of fun and hired saris and traditional Indian outfits for the boys. I loved getting dressed up and felt very feminine in the sari even if I didn't dare move in it! We ate in the hotel that night on a low table which involved kneeling - really not that easy when you are wearing an alien outfit which involves metres of fabric! David's outfit consisted of ali baba pants, a loose shirt and a turban, which made his head sweat a lot even though it's designed to cool him down - so how does that work? I was also given some pretty Indian jewellrey to wear with my outfit but unfortunately it caused a rash within 30 minutes of putting it on which lasted for a further 2 days - nice!

One thing I've noticed as I've been strolling around is that many of the babies wear a form of eyeliner. This can look really pretty, except of course when they have rubbed their eyes, when it looks like a travisty of black smudging. On enquiry it turns out that it is called Tajil - clarified butter is placed in an earthenware bowl along with a piece of cotton. The cotton is burned and the smoke it produces blackens the lid of the pot. This is then applied to the infants eyes as it has been (allegedly) clinically proven to improve a childs eye sight!

We visited both the palace and the Jain Temples whilst in Jaisalmer where, through an audio guide, we learned some interesting facts. In Rajasthan a child can grow to 7 years of age before it ever sees rain and the average rainfall is only 150cm per annum. We also learned about Sati and Johor - Sati is when women jumped onto the funeral fire of their husbands if they died of disease or in battle. Johor is where women burned themselves before their men went into battle and certain death. It was regarded as a sacred ritual and far superior to the alternative - becoming slaves or prostitutes to the enemy! Both practices were outlawed in 1833.

The final excitement for our Jaisalmer visit was a camel trek into the Thar Desert. We set off in the late afternoon to avoid the heat of the day though it was still incredibly hot! My camel was called Nanapoo but, sounding so similar to Nappy Poo, I decided to nickname it Norman. We walked for an uncomfortable 2 hours on the back of these animals until we reached a sand dune holding a number of iron bedsteads - how bizarre to see!!! Not suprisingly this was to be our stop for the night. Within no time at all the camels had been stripped and our seats turned into mattresses, pillows and blankets. A troupe of 4 musicians and dancers appeared (oh and of course the mandatory baby latched onto it's mothers breast) who played us a few tunes and did a few dances as we ate our desert cooked evening meal - they even managed to get us up dancing at one point! I personally had a great nght's sleep out there in the desert but David didn't as he was plagued by drifting sand hitting him in the face.

There is no argument that Jaisalmer is a commercial town but the shopkeepers have a really gentle and none intrusive way of getting your attention, with funny quotes like 'come in my shop and make your eyes happy' and 'my sir you're looking healthy and wealthy today' - the way they say it manages to bring a smile to my face everytime. I also saw my first 'official government bangh' shop in Jaisalmer - a legal opium shop! The owners of these establishments apply to the government for a licence which permits them to sell very small quantities of opium balls to any one person in any one day. A good way to control both the distribution and consumption of opium I think!