Greetings from Shimla - we've reached the Himalayas! There are some very interesting contrasts between the India I have seen thus far and the area I find myself in now, but I shall leave those comments for my entry on the town in a few days. In the meantime...

DAY 18 - JAISALMER

We spent the morning repeating the now familiar routine of breakfast in bed followed by packing (or more accurately, watching our guides pack), before slowly making our way back towards our base camp via a pleasant little village, eventually arriving at the the same spot where we had mounted our camels two days before. After our final meal in the shade, we bade our guides farewell, not before presenting them with a little thank you package (which included two pairs of sunglasses which they accepted happily), and caught the jeep back to the centre of Jaisalmer, arriving at about half past 2 after an unforgettable couple of days in the heart of the Thar desert. We booked ourselves into the Surya hostel nearby (our cheapest room yet at under one pound fifty apiece), and spent a couple of hours or so strolling the fort's markets, eventually buying a couple of books (mine being Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children'), before grabbing a quick snack. I also purchased a handmade traditional Rajasthani instrument for around two pounds in a market by the fort's entrance (which was great fun before one of its strings unfortunately came loose whilst packed in my bag). I'm keeping it with me for ornamental reasons though I fear it shan't be with me for too much longer. Following my desire to experience Jaislamer's rich cultural heritage, I also made a visit to the town's famous 'bhang' shop, which sold the traditional substance in various food and drink forms. Associated with a whole range of religious festivals, particularly the Hindu festival of 'Holi', bhang has been enjoyed by Indians for thousands of years. I decided to have a mild bhang lassi and made my way back to the hostel, waiting for the effects to take hold around an hour later. We decided to visit the Gadi Sagar Tank to the south of the city (a tranquil lake containing, and surrounded by, old temples, half crumbled into the water). Upon arriving, we hired a pedalo for an hour and leisurely peddled our way around the site, enjoying the golden gleam of the surrounding sandstone buildings as the sun slowly fell, groups of people lining the lake's edge, relaxing as the day closed. By then the lassi had taken hold and I was pretty chilled out, albeit in a slightly 'out-of-it' way. I shan't try and detail the sensation because I don't think one can. It was fun though, all part of the experience. We eventually had a nice meal at a local restaurant called 'Little Italy', the great fort lit up beside us, before retiring and getting some sleep in order to prepare for the epic journey ahead.