We arrived here just as dawn was about to break. We'd taken a night bus for the seven-hour journey, so had managed to get a little sleep. The upper berth which we'd been assigned had sliding glass windows on either side which were incredibly effective at reducing the noise, although it did feel a little bit like being in a glass coffin. John was just waiting for the music to kick in and was on constant alert for any smell of burning. As we climbed down from the coach the air was cold which was a surprise after the warm daytime temperatures, but we soon warmed up when we got to our hotel.

We had managed to bag a substantial pre-Diwali reduction to secure three nights at a nice hotel on the edge of the town. soft beds, hot showers and a rooftop with a great view of the fort (once I'd recovered from the climb). Just what we needed after our time in frantic Jaipur and Bikaner, so we snuggled into the soft mattress and went straight to sleep. On waking we were pleasantly surprised to look out of our hotel window and see the magnificent fort surrounded by sandstone buildings, many with attractive haveli style facades.

Jaisalmer is famous for its fort. Inhabited by around 3000 people the fort dates back to 1156 and houses a rabbit warren of small streets, shops and Havelis. Sunday morning is always great in India. It seems to be one day when many of the locals have a lie in so it's always less frantic. As we left the hotel to explore our new location we were warned to watch out for gangs of tricksters and touts but returned some hours later having had the most enjoyable excursion in some time. Yes, we were asked whether we wanted to buy things, whether we wanted a tuk-tuk, scarf, rug, or carving- but whenever we said "no" this was accepted straight away. Maybe the abundance of tourists made us less of a good catch. There are certainly plenty of western faces here as well as a lot of local tourists. I spent the morning catching up on the blog whilst John explored the fort, so afterwards we rewarded ourselves with lunch at a Tibetan cafe, sitting on the small rooftop enjoying the views and eating momos and delicious Thurtuk. Momos are a bit like Chinese dumplings, and Thurtuk was a delicious soupy broth containing squares of pasta. Perfect, and to be recommended if you see any on your travels.

On Monday the streets were a bit busier and we spent the morning doing some housekeeping duties- sending a parcel home and booking bus tickets for Wednesday's transfer to The Blue city - Jodphur. Our encounter with the Post Office was much less traumatic than our last experience in Mumbai. We had parcelled the item in a plastic envelope exactly as before- but this time it was deemed acceptable. Hey ho. Maybe one day I'll figure out the rule ( or maybe not) this is India!